Decode
by Polkadotdotdot
Summary: Kimberly experiences some strange symptoms after being exposed to Maligore and his influence. What does this mean for the new Turbo Rangers now she's moved back to Angel Grove? TO/KH
1. Chapter 1

So this story is set pretty much straight after the rangers escape the temple in Turbo: A Power Rangers movie and it goes on from there. Not everything will follow the exact ranger timeline, you have been warned. You may recognise bits of the story from movies or comic books or games, I draw inspiration from lots of different places and warp them to suit me. Sometimes I just feel like sharing my warped thoughts with people :) Enjoy!

* * *

Kimberly was exhausted.

Thinking back on the events of the past few days, she wasn't completely surprised. First she had been freaking out about her plans to move back to California, about how it would effect everyone or how they would feel about her returning. Jason had suggested that she took some time out from her move and to relax which she had been move than ready to do. Little did she know their relaxing scuba dive resulted in both herself and Jason being Kidnapped by a bona-fide psycho named Divatox, having to swim her way out of a submarine only to be grabbed once more and thrown into a volcano as a sacrifice for some ancient being.

It was no wonder she had a killer headache coming on.

Kimberly sat quietly taking in her surroundings and how surreal it all was. They were all in the Zord, but not the Zord she remembered. This one was new and shiney and something she would never get to experience. In the cockpit she could see Tanya, the yellow turbo ranger teaching the newer blue ranger Justin how to pilot as they made their leisurely way home.

Jason was sitting up on the cot next to hers in what appeared to be the medical bay. Kimberly hadn't even noticed where she had been placed, it had all been such a blur. From the corner of her eye she could see the two of them, Tommy and Katherine, standing very close to one another and talking quietly. She didn't want to hazard a guess as to what they were saying, it was too painful to even look at directly.

"Kim," A familiar voice said quietly. The former pink ranger lifted her head towards the direction of the sound and smiled softly at Adam as he approached with what looked like a small medical kit, "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Oh...yeah I'm fine," She said quietly, "You don't need to check me," She began to protest as Adam opened the kit and began to put on the white latex gloves.

"That gash on your forehead says differently," he said with a good-natured smile. As he finished speaking a drip of blood fell from above her right brow bone onto her cheek, leaving a crimson trail leading to a cut just below her hairline. Kimberly didn't try and protest as Adam began to tend to her wound. She hadn't even realised she was bleeding.

Tommy hadn't moved from his position near the door of the medical bay since Jason and Kimberly had been brought there. He tried to pay attention to the conversation he was having with his girlfriend and current pink ranger Katherine but if he was honest, his mind was spinning too quickly to focus on any one thing. So he went into auto pilot, short answers that kept her happy until he was able to speak to her properly. With a smile and a comforting touch to his arm, Katherine pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before she made her way to the cockpit to be with Tanya and Justin.

Seeing her again felt like he was looking into an eclipse, it hurt but he couldn't remember when he had last seen something so beautiful. Even with messy hair and blood on her face, she was still as stunning as he remembered, but what was she doing here? Why now?

Tommy had finally felt like he was doing alright, that he was moving on from the petite gymnast that had broken his heart. It wasn't a subject he wanted to get into at that moment in time, not with everyone around. So Tommy decided to play it safe.

"How're you feeling bro?" He said with a tight smile. Jason pushed himself up leaning on his hands and returned his old friends sentiments.

"Oh, I've been better," He quipped, "It's not what I expected to be doing with my weekend. Go for a quick swim and you end up being grabbed by some freak and thrown into a fiery pit. Thanks for the save though man,"

"Don't mention it, You'd have done the same," Tommy said. It was true, Jason would have done anything for his friends and former team mates. Kimberly had remained quiet during their exchange until a sudden movement by Adam forced her to hiss. Tommy turned his head to her along with Jason, their eyes locking for the first time since they had been inside that damn temple.

It was no less intense the second time.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" Adam asked quickly, fussing around the cut on her forehead. Kimberly tore her eyes away from Tommy's and shook her head.

"N...No, it's fine. Just stung a little," She muttered.

"Well, that's you all fixed up. I just need to check your pupils but I think you'll live," Adam said pulling out a small torch. Tommy still had his gaze fixed on the small brunette as Adam shone his light into her brown eyes, checking that they were still dilating as normal. When he was satisfied there was nothing immediately wrong with the young woman he turned the light off and nodded to her.

"Alright Kimberly Hart, you seem good to go!" He quipped, "Seems like not even being dropped into a volcano can take you out," Kimberly gave him a weak but genuine smile.

_"Nope, it's much easier than that,"_ She thought sadly, her eye catching Tommy's once again noticing that he was still staring at her.

"Looks like we'll need to unpack another time huh Kim?" Jason said suddenly breaking Kimberly from the small trance Tommy had been holding her in. She nodded in agreement.

"When we're back just give me a few Red Bulls," She smiled, "I'm sure I'll get it all done myself. You'd just hold me back anyway," Jason placed his hand on his chest in mock offence.

"I'll remember that when you're asking me to help you do the heavy lifting!" Tommy frowned, his eye line switching between the two.

"Boxes? What boxes?" He asked in confusion. Kimberly looked away from him, suddenly very interested in his filthy nails.

"I...I'm moving back to Angel Grove," She stuttered quietly. Oh how she had wanted to do this differently, "I had moved all my boxes and things into my new place just before Jase had suggested we take a break and go do something. Which as you know turned out great," She finished sarcastically.

Tommy nodded absently, trying to process the information given to him. When she was all the way in Florida, forgetting about her seemed so simple, now she was going to be back near him. It wasn't going to be easy.

"How was I supposed to know this was going to happen!?" Jason teased and Kimberly giggled lightly, the first time since she had been aboard the Turbo Zord.

"I can promise, that's the last time I go swimming with you Jason Lee Scott,"

Tommy could feel a great surge of jealousy in his gut watching the two former rangers exchange. Could Jason have been the other man she had spoken about in her letter? The one she had left him for? The thought was almost too much to bare.

"Tommy, you're needed up front," Tanya said over his communicator, breaking the tension in the room, "We're almost home,"

Tommy nodded towards the two and turned, exiting the room quickly and leaving both Kim and Jason alone. With a groan Kimberly fell backwards onto the cot, Jason getting up off his own and walking over to her.

"Hey, come on," he said gently, "Look on the bright side, the worst is over - we're safe and Tommy knows you're moving back."

"Oh Jase, it's not over, " She sighed, "It's never over."

* * *

When they had finally landed, Kimberly and Jason were taken straight away by Alpha to the main chamber to be reunited with Zordon. Despite being completely exhausted, Kimberly was more than happy to oblige having missed the beings influence in her life.

"We will be issuing you with these communicators that will allow Alpha and myself to keep in contact with you," He explained, his booming voice resonating around the chamber. Something both Kim and Jason had missed greatly, "There has been very little study done on the flame and we do not yet know what side effects may occur," The two nodded in understanding then said their farewells before teleporting out of the chamber.

The place was exactly as she had left it. Boxes and cases everywhere, her whole life waiting to be unpacked but it wasn't something she was in the mood to comprehend then and there. Without a second glance at the mess, Kimberly walked to her new bedroom and prepared to sleep off the last four days.

They were screaming in her ear, the frightening sounds resonating in her mind. She didn't know who they were but all around her she could see flames, the acrid smell of smoke and blood filled her nostrils and chest until she could hardly breathe. Her surroundings seemed foreign but completely familiar, the people screaming and running mearly shadows with no defining features.

Suddenly her eyes flew open to focus on her cell phone that had been ringing and vibrating against her bedside table. Kimberly groaned reaching over and grabbing the device.

"Hello?" She muttered into the handset.

"Kim, thank God," Jason's relieved voice could be heard on the other end and she rolled over trying to find something that would tell her the time, "I've tried to call you all morning. I was worried you had gone into hiding," She chuckled at the thought.

"Hiding in all these boxes maybe," She pulled herself up off the bed and wandered through to her living room, "I was just sleeping off our little misadventure, it's nothing,"

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Jason said, "Listen, what are you doing tonight?"

"I...don't think I'm doing anything," She said tentatively, "Why?"

"Tonight it's the prize fight down at the youth centre. I said I'd help out since Rocky injured himself and I want you to be there," He said confidently, the opposite of how Kimberly felt.

"I dunno Jase," She started, "Tommy and Kat are going to be there and..."

"And what? Kim, you've moved back here. You're going to have to accept that we're all part of the same crowd. I'm not going to let you cut yourself off, it's not your style," he said with a smile that Kimberly could hear over the phone. She nodded reluctantly.

"Well...alright, if you say so..."

"Great! I'll come over and pick you up around four. See you then!"

With his parting sentence the phone was dead leaving Kimberly once again in silence but her mind was still buzzing, her muscles felt like they couldn't stop twitching. Maybe it was nerves, she reasoned to herself. Shaking it off, Kimberly decided the best thing she could do was to steel herself for the evenings events.

* * *

Katherine didn't want to admit it, and if Tommy asked she would deny it to the day she died, but she was nervous. Not for his safety or how his team would do in the martial arts contest, she was more than confident in his abilities, but for the small brunette that had suddenly come flooding back into their lives.

Katherine wasn't blind. She had seen the outright panic on his face when he had seen Kimberly on the viewer, the way he had whispered her name as if it was something sacred. When he had thought they had been dumped in the sea he had even swam to check both even when they knew they had been deceived.

Worst of all she had watched the outright passion in her boyfriend's eyes as he tore his helmet off in a vain attempt to get through to Kimberly. It might have even worked if she hadn't tried to join in. Katherine winced as she rubbed her solar plexus where Kimberly had landed her stiff kick 36 hours earlier, it still ached.

She smiled at Tommy as he warmed up with Adam. She had always liked him, from the moment she had laid her eyes on him. Spell or no spell, he was exactly what she looked for in a man. Katherine simply couldn't understand why Kimberly would ever have let someone like him go but as far as she was concerned enough time should have passed, Kim's loss was her own gain, but if that was the case then why did Katherine still feel so nervous?

"Kim!" A voice bellowed from across the room as she entered the youth centre, a place she used to know like the back of her hand. Her face broke into an easy grin as she jogged towards Rocky and he wrapped her in a bone crushing hug.

"Rocky, Oh I missed your face," She stressed under the strain of his hug, "And your hugs!" The former Red Ranger pulled away and beamed at her.

"Man I was so stoked to hear you've moved back to our neck of the woods, it's just not been the same without you," He said and Kimberly blushed lightly.

"You know, it's...interesting to be back," She said picking her words carefully, "But it's good to know there are still familiar faces around," Lightly she punched Rocky's shoulder to make her point.

"You guys better take your seats," Jason said, emerging in his Gi, "Competition is about to start!"

Kimberly watched on tender hooks as the men competed against one another. Jason wasn't nearly as rusty as he had previously worried himself to be and Adam had vastly improved in his technique. Tommy looked as amazing as he always had been, precise and crisp in his movements with perfect footing, it took her right back to watching him practice during their ranger days.

When she was happy.

Kimberly was doing her best to ignore the throbbing that had been present in the back of her head the whole time she was there but suddenly when there was an eruption from the crowd as Jason scored the winning point for his team, taking home the prize money and effectively saving the shelter. The noise hit Kimberly like a sledge hammer, sending her head reeling. It wasn't just the noise, her chest suddenly felt like it was caught in a burning vice that was slowly squeezing the life out of her as if the sudden emotion in the room was constricting her lungs.

She had to leave and quickly before she passed out. Kim didn't want to cause that kind of scene during everyone's celebration. As quickly and quietly as she could, she slipped away from the group and out of the front door into the cool evening air.


	2. Chapter 2

Kimberly felt better the instant she emerged outside into the cool night air, her head suddenly clearing and her ability to breathe seemingly restored. Slowly Kimberly wandered to a nearby bench and sat herself down, enjoying the sudden feeling of being alone with her own thoughts.

Maybe she was more stressed than she wanted to admit? Maybe she was coming down with something? It was as she sat alone she began to realise that everything still sounded so loud and clear in her head. The wind rustling through the trees, the birds chirping and in the distance she could see some kids playing basket ball on one of the outside courts but the sounded so close she could have sworn she was in the middle of them all.

"Urgh why won't everything just shut up!" She growled out loud to herself, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her hands. The movement did nothing to change all the noise that was invading her head.

* * *

Tommy was thrilled his team had won, even more so that they had won for a good cause. He could see the happy faces of the kids as well as his friends and he ran over to give and expectant Katherine the hug she was waiting for.

"You guys were amazing!" She gushed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Tommy smiled down at her but something was bothering him. A familiar face that had been there only a few minutes before. He pulled away from Katherine and looked around the room quickly.

"Did any of you guys see where Kim went?" He asked.

"She went outside to grab some air," Rocky answered, "She didn't look too great."

Tommy frowned, she hadn't seemed herself back on the Zord but he assumed it was down to simply being exhausted.

"I'm gonna head out and see if she's alright," He said, pulling on his sneakers. Katherine frowned lightly in worry.

"Tommy, I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she just wants a little space?" She suggested in hope but Tommy shook his head.

"Kat, you know as well as I do that she's been through a lot. I hardly spoke to her, least I can do is be a friend," He muttered and Katherine decided to say no more only allowing herself to be led away by Tanya.

"Let him be girl, this is something he just has to do," the yellow ranger said lightly. Katherine knew she was right but it still wasn't something that sat well with her.

Tommy pulled off his headband and began to make his way towards the front door when he was suddenly stopped by Jason in front of him and a hand on his chest.

"Tommy man, if you don't mind, I think it might be better if I go out," Jason said lightly but Tommy noticed the man's hand was still on his chest. Tommy narrowed his eyes slightly at his old friend.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" Tommy questioned and Jason backed off slightly at his confrontational tone of voice. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with his friend over something so small.

"Come on bro, don't get so defensive. You know as well as I do you've not spoken to Kim in a long time," He reasoned, "You want to go out there right this moment and open that Pandora's box?"

Tommy sighed, his face softening slightly, he knew Jason was right and it stung to hear the other man say it out loud. It was a sore point that he had lost touch with Kimberly, the person he used to consider his complete other half. By the time he had felt that he would have been strong enough to face her he was with Katherine. He didn't want to risk upsetting the Australian girl by drumming up any old feelings he still had.

Under the scrutiny of the former red rangers stare he finally relented.

"You know I'm going to have to speak to her eventually?" Tommy said attempting to gauge the reaction in Jason's face but he came up short.

"Oh damn straight," Jason agreed, "But now is not the time." Tommy simply nodded in response and left Jason to walk out the door.

* * *

The strangest thing was that Kimberly heard him long before she saw Jason walking towards her, his face full of concern.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" He asked approaching her. Kimberly opened her eyes and felt like she was seeing the world for the first time. Everything was in such sharp focus and she could see every little detail around her and when she finally focused on Jason's face she could see every faint line, every small scratch and scar he had collected over the years.

"Wow," She whispered to herself, staring in amazement at Jason's bewildered face.

"Well I'm glad you like what you see," He teased, sitting down next to her, "But seriously, why'd you run out?"

"It was all just too...loud," She sighed, "It felt like everyone's emotions and thoughts all at once were pounding in my head..." She stopped at the sight of Jason's raised eyebrow, "It sounds stupid..."

"No, it sounds like you just need a good long rest," He said gently wrapping his arm around Kimberly's shoulders. "Maybe I should have let you stay home a bit longer, I just didn't want you to isolate yourself from everyone else,"

"I know and I appreciate it Jase, really I do but..."

"But what..." Suddenly Kimberly looked at him directly, unshed tears shining in her eyes.

"Is it ever going to get any easier...seeing him?"She asked. Jason shifted awkwardly and pulled her back to his chest.

"Of course it will Kim," He said soothingly, "It might just take a little time..."

"It just kills me knowing that I had to hurt him the way I did...and now he's moved on and I'm still the same..." She sobbed.

"You know it was for the best," Jason sighed stroking her hair, "He wouldn't have moved on unless you had said what you did. You know Tommy, he would have kept holding on."

"Which makes it so much worse!" She exclaimed, pulling away from her friend. The pounding had returned to her head, her muscles felt like they were coiled to spring so much that she had to stand up and pace to wear down some of her energy. Worse of all she could feel the burning sensation return to her chest, "He loved me so much that he would have stood by me through anything and I cast that aside!"

"Come on Kim, you need to see this is what had to be done," Jason said evenly, standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from moving, "Zordon agreed this was the best option."

"Well it wasn't the best option for me was it?" She spat, "It was hard enough thinking about it on the other side of the country but now I'm back and I'm going to have to be confronted with it every single day!" It was too much for Kimberly to take as she finally broke down into sobs, falling into her friends arms and allowing Jason to hold her up while she fell apart.

* * *

"Good job again guys, I'll see you later!" Tommy said to the rest of his friends as they left the youth centre, Tommy heading in the opposite direction to his own car.

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't still irritated at his friends behavior towards him. Who was Jason to tell him that he couldn't go and speak to Kimberly, even if they weren't a couple anymore he still cared in her well being. It just served to drive home that perhaps Jason really was the man Kimberly had left him for. The thought left him with bile in his throat. Surely Jason would never have done that, not behind his back.

He turned the corner to the parking lot and there they were, Jason and Kimberly. A rational mind would have seen it as innocent, Jason wasn't doing anything other than holding the young woman while she cried herself out, but Tommy wasn't thinking like a rational person. Kimberly had always had that effect on him.

He watched with a scowl as Jason pulled her back, pressed a kiss to her forehead and began walking her to his car where he drove them both away. Only once they were both out of sight did Tommy continue walking to his own car, launching his gym back into the back seat and slamming the door in frustration.

Gritting his teeth, he decided first thing tomorrow he would find answers. Even if they weren't what he wanted to hear.

* * *

Jason rubbed his bleary eyes and face, feeling the stubble that had grown in over the evening while he slept. Not that he had gotten a lot of a sleep. When he had dropped Kimberly at her apartment, she had just looked so defeated but had insisted she was fine and she just wanted to get more sleep. He didn't want her to feel like he was fussing over her or crowding her so he just left the issue and headed to his own home.

He sat on one of the high chairs next to his kitchen breakfast bar while sipping at his black coffee, only half paying attention to the morning news. A sudden sharp knock shook him out of his daze and he checked the time. It was only nine thirty, who did he know that would be calling at this time in the morning? The knock came again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he muttered to himself wandering towards the door. He unhooked the latch and opened the door. Standing there was Tommy Oliver looking just as tired as Jason felt.

"Tommy? Hey man, anything wrong?" Jason asked. He was used to Tommy being able to sleep until well past noon, it was completely out of character for the red ranger to just turn up unannounced.

"I...I need to speak with you," Tommy said, his jaw clenched slightly and his eyes hard. Jason nodded and stepped aside to let the other man into his home. Cautiously, Jason followed Tommy through to his kitchen, reclaiming his cup of coffee.

"Do you want coffee? Theres a fresh pot made..." he began but Tommy shook his head to cut him off. He was anxious enough without the added effect of caffeine, "What's wrong bro, seriously, you're starting to freak me out..."

"I want to know what's going on with Kim," Tommy exclaimed suddenly. His reward was a blank look from Jason.

"That's a little vague don't you think..."

"You know what I'm talking about Jason," he said, his eyes fixed on Jason's own, "Everything was perfect! Then I get a letter completely out of the blue telling me she's met someone else and that she's always loved me like a brother?!" he shouted. Jason put his hand up to Tommy as a warning.

"Tommy, come on, calm down man," He said but Tommy just continued.

"Then I start to think about things some more, wonder who it is that could have taken her from me and it all makes sense...It was you..." He growled. Jason's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he shook his head violently.

"What?! Where do you..."

"You were there at the Pan Globals, I saw you both on the TV,"

"I was there as a friend! Trini and Zack were also there, ask them!"

"Then both of you get taken by Divatox, together, during a date..."

"A date?! I was helping her relax by getting her out of the house...Tommy you're acting completely insane!" Jason shouted back. Tommy gave him a sarcastic smile.

"And then last night, after the competition, I saw both of you," he snapped, "You stopped me from going to speak with her all so you could be the big supportive friend for yourself..."

"ENOUGH!" Jason shouted, his fist slamming down on the counter so hard his coffee mug jumped and fell to the floor. The smash resonated through the kitchen and suddenly the only sound was the quiet TV in the background.

Slowly Jason moved towards Tommy who had suddenly taken an interest in his feet, feeling completely ashamed of his outburst. Jason put his hand on his friend's shoulder, taking in his appearance. There was dark circles under Tommy's eyes and a layer of stubble growing on his friends face. He looked like he hadn't slept all night.

"I know you're upset," Jason said quietly, "And I know that you must have so many questions that you want answers for but I can't give them to you!" Tommy looked up at Jason, who was surprised to see what looked like the start of tears.

"Jase...I'm so sorry," He said quietly, "I...I don't know what came over me. It was like I was seeing red, I couldn't help myself." He moved over to one of the stools and sat himself down, Jason pouring him the previously refused cup of coffee and sitting opposite.

"I thought I was over her, I really did," He said looking down into his mug, "I was getting on with life, I had racing, I had the rangers...I even started seeing Kat," Jason snorted.

"Kim's replacement...smooth," he said sarcastically but shut his mouth after a glare from Tommy.

"Then I saw her on that viewing screen and she looked even more beautiful than I remembered. It all came flooding back, it was like being smashed in the chest with a sledge-hammer," He expressed. Jason said nothing, simply letting his friend talk. It was clearly what he needed.

"I mean, have you any idea how hard it is to still be in love with someone knowing that they don't want you?" Jason shook his head.

"Honestly, I can't say I do..."

"Worse of all is that I know it compromised my judgement, I know that I made bad calls based completely on how I felt and not on what was best for the team..."

"Hey, come on, you think I've never done that before?" Jason said, placing a comforting hand on Tommy's shoulder, "You think I've never let feelings get in the way of things?"

"This is different. Even Kat is starting to notice something is wrong," He sighed, "I don't know how things are going to get any easier!"

"I'll tell you how," Jason said, "You need to speak to Kimberly,"

"You say that like it's so easy..." he said with a bitter laugh.

"Listen, I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you're both living in the same city again and hanging out with the same people. You both need to find a middle ground," Jason stood up and scribbled something on a nearby set of post-its. He handed the small yellow note to Tommy.

"This is her new place," He said lightly, "She'll probably kill me for this but finish your coffee and go see her." Tommy looked from the paper to Jason and for the first time since he had stepped into his friend's home, he smiled.

"Thanks man, I probably don't deserve this after the things I said..."

"Probably not," Jason said returning the smile, "But what kind of friend would that make me?"

* * *

It was just as cold as it had always been in the throne room of Lord Zedd, Divatox observed as she stood in front of him. Zedd sat atop this throne looking down at the defeated pirate pondering what to do with her.

When she had told his wife, Rita, of her great plans to wed the immense evil force of Maligore, it had sounded almost fool-proof. Until she had made the mistake of kidnapping two former rangers. If he could have frowned at her, he would have.

"So once again Divatox," he growled, "You have failed in your plans..."

"It wasn't my fault!" The pirate queen wailed, "How was I supposed to know that the Power Rangers would show up with new powers!?" Zedd sighed and stood up, pacing in front of her while she remained on her knees.

"I used to be like you Divatox," He said, "Ambitious, ignorant...I used to underestimate the powers of certain emotions like friendship and love. This lead to my undoing countless times until I learned that if you cannot beat the emotion...you use it."

"My Lord...I don't understand..." Divatox said quietly watching the being walk around her.

"Human emotions strenghten an individuals resolve...but they also have the ability to take them apart," He said, "This is something you need to learn Divatox," The pirate queen simply nodded.

"What of my plan my Lord?" She asked. Zedd rubbed his chin in thought and nodded slightly.

"The astariod is not something I had considered for a long time I admit," he said, "And with the rangers in turmoil, now seems like the perfect time..."

"Turmoil? They seemed perfectly fine to me..."

"Their leader is distracted, I can feel his anguish as we speak. Now is the perfect time to strike." Divatox stood up.

"What is our plan my Lord?" Zedd walked over to his balcony, looking at the distant earth.

"As we speak my minions are constructing a ray to divert the course of the Lazarus Comet to send it on a collision course to earth. Once the comet strikes, the gateway to my dark dimensions will open across the globe, allowing our allies to spill out and take the earth for ourselves!" He finished with a laugh. Divatox nodded with a tight smile. It sounded almost too perfect.

"I hate to ask my Lord...but what about the Power Rangers?" She asked meekly. Zedd growled in frustration.

"The rangers will not be a problem this time..." he said ominously and Divatox just nodded, realising he clearly wasn't for sharing the rest of his plan. She bowed to him and left the throne room to oversee the remainder of his project, leaving Lord Zedd alone to stare at the planet he would be soon ruling.

* * *

Kimberly smiled at her surroundings, her newly furnished and organised apartment suddenly felt so much bigger now all the boxes had been removed. It wasnt a large apartment, just big enough for her needs. The modest sized kitchen attached onto the living room with a breakfast bar to separate the two but the living room was large with full size glass doors leading out onto a balcony showing a view of the lake. It was perfect for her.

She brushed her dusty hands on the legs of her cropped skinny jeans then made her way to her fridge and removing a bottle of water. Just as she unscrewed the cap, the buzzer at her door went.

"Probably Jase," she muttered, putting the water down and going to the door.

Without a second thought Kimberly pulled the door open but the unexpected person standing in front of her made her heart skip a beat.

"Hi Kim," He said, his voice as soft as she always remembered it being. Sure she had heard him yell, she'd heard him scream in anger but towards her there was always a particular tone that seemed reserved just for her.

"Hi Tommy," She said willing her voice not to shake, "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not please to see you! I'm...It's just...unexpected," She stammered. Tommy smiled gently.

"I...I really need to talk to you," Kimberly nodded at him and allowed him inside where he slowly walked into her living room. She took a moment to really look at him, it had been so long since she had seen him properly.

He looked more mature, she reasoned, maybe a little wiser or a little battle hard but he still looked like her Tommy. Long dark hair tied back, soft brown eyes and the same smile that had knocked her for six the first time they had met. Suddenly Kim was very aware that she was standing in dusty clothes.

"Do you want something to drink?" She asked, suddenly shaking herself from her own thoughts and walking to her kitchen.

"No, thank," He said, "This is a pretty nice place you got," Kimberly sighed at his attempt at small talk.

"Thanks. I just finished unpacked when you knocked," She said. Taking a deep breath, Kimberly decided to make the first move, noticing that her ex looked nothing but terrified.

"Tommy, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked, walking closer to him until they were barely a foot apart.

"I wanted to know how you were doing," He lied, "We didn't exactly get a chance to talk back on the Zord or at the youth centre..."

"Yeah it's been a crazy few days," Kimberly said, Awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. A habit she had picked up from Tommy himself.

"So...how've you been?" He asked, using all his focus to keep up eye contact.

She wanted to tell him that she was shattered. She wanted to tell him that she could hear people screaming in her dreams at night but she was powerless to save them, that her body burned constantly, that she could feel other people around her and that her senses seemed to be going crazy.

"Oh, I've been fine," was the reply she settled for. Tommy nodded but his face remained passive.

"I never did ask," He started, unsure of how the conversation was going to proceed, "How your boyfriend is..."

"Who?" Kimberly said suddenly before it dawned on her that he was referring back to that damn letter she had sent.

"You know, the guy you left me for? I figured if he was so great then you guys must still be together?" He said, his voice full of spite. The sheer venom of his words knocked the breath from Kimberly's lungs and suddenly her chest began to constrict. She took a step back from him.

"How dare you..." She breathed and Tommy had the decency to at least look slightly sheepish, "How can you just turn up, unannounced to my home and start trying to open wounds like that?!" She exclaimed and Tommy scowled.

"Because I deserve answers Kim! We were perfect and out of nowhere you drop this bomb on me and you blow my whole world to pieces," He shouted, his voice ringing in her ears and adding to the pressure she was feeling across her chest and temples. It was as if his emotional pain was manifesting itself physically in her and Kimberly didn't like the feeling one bit.

"You want an answer?" She choked out despite the burning, crushing sensation that threatened to take over, "There was nobody else Tommy, There has never been anybody else but you!" She had to shout to hear herself over the pounding in her ears and tears ran unchecked down her face.

"Then tell me why!?" Tommy shouted, grabbing her desperately by the shoulders and forcing her to look at him, "I need to know why you felt the need to break us!"

The room was spinning and she was sure she could feel her blood pounding in her ears, her whole body was screaming with white-hot agony as she practically doubled over.

"I...I can't...I need to..." She stuttered, her voice no louder than a whisper as she tried to break away from his strong grip. Suddenly her whole axis was flipped as she felt herself falling backwards towards the floor, Tommy quickly catching her.

"Kim? Kim?!" He said anxiously trying to shake her awake but the small woman didn't respond at all. With shaking hands Tommy brushed the hair away from her face, she looked as if she was simply in a peaceful sleep. As gently as he could, all trace of anger gone, Tommy pulled Kimberly to his lap then pressed his communicator.

"Zordon, this is Tommy," He said, his voice shaking, "I need your help."


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note: Okay so I know Zedd's evil plan might seem a little thin to some but that's because this story is more centered on the emotions felt between the Rangers past and present more than about Zedd trying to take over earth. Still, I hope you continue to enjoy!

* * *

Tommy stood in a fog, his mind running through the same scenario over and over leading up to Kimberly blacking out into his arms. As soon as Tommy had appeared in the command center with Kimberly in his arms, she was taken from him by Adam and placed on one of the beds in their med-bay while Alpha and Tanya fussed around them. During the commotion Tommy had somehow found himself pushed to the side where he couldn't get in the way.

"Do you know what's wrong with her Zordon?" Tanya asked, looking up at him for answers.

"Her body is under a great deal of stress," Zordon said, "Kimberly appears to be going through some severe metaphysical changes,"

"Tommy, what were you doing before this happened?" Katherine asked him. It was only when the australian woman touched his shoulder gently that he actually realised she was standing in front of him, her eyes full of question.

"We...we were having an argument," he muttered, "Things got pretty heated and...next thing I know she was saying something about not being able to breathe...then she passed out and I contacted Zordon,"

Katherine tried her best to keep up her eye contact with Tommy for as long as possible but it became difficult when Tommy continuously glanced over her shoulder to see what was happening with Kimberly. With a sigh and a small, sad smile, Katherine squeezed his shoulder and turned back to aid Adam.

"Tommy, We need to contact Jason and the others," Zordon commanded. Tommy nodded absently and wandered further away from the commotion.

"Tommy to Jason," He said, his voice still shuddery. There was a second of silence then static before he heard his friends voice.

"This is Jason," he heard, "What's up Tommy?"

"We need you to contact Trini and Zack and get to the command centre as soon as you can," He said, "Something's going on with Kimberly..."

"What's going on?!"

"It's a long story, just get here when you can. I'm going to contact Billy and Aisha,"

Billy was the first to arrive, teleporting over as soon as he was contacted and instantly rushing to Kimberly's bedside to see Adam and Tanya's minimal progress. Within the hour he was joined by Jason, Zack and Trini, the latter who did the same as Billy and politely moved Tanya and Adam out of the way. Neither the Black nor Yellow ranger were offended, they knew Billy and Trini were far more knowledgeable than they were.

There was something bitter sweet about the reunion. It was fantastic to see his old friends again, especially having been separated for so long, he just wished they were seeing each other again under better circumstances. Aisha was still on her way since she was unable to leave Africa so quickly.

After an hour of Billy and Trini working Kimberly still hadn't opened her eyes. The rest of the Rangers both past and present could do nothing but sit by and make small talk about their lives but Tommy had remained silent throughout it all. What was he going to say to them? That this was all his fault? That Kimberly was lying completely unresponsive because of him?

"Any change Billy?" Adam asked. Billy shook his head and glanced back over at the brunette.

"Not that I can see," He sighed, "She seems to be more responsive than that of a normal coma patient, I just don't know what that means. I think all we can do is wait." The others nodded in understanding.

"Billy is correct. I urge you all to go and get some rest," Zordon insisted, "I will contact you if anything changes."

They knew he was correct, although nobody seemed thrilled to be leaving, there was nothing else they could do for Kimberly and sitting around worrying wouldn't do anybody any good.

"Come on guys, you can stay at my place," Jason said to Trini and Zack who both nodded, allowing themselves to be teleported with Jason first.

"I'm going to go and find out what I can about this Maligore," Billy said, "It might have something to do with it,"

"Let us know if you need anything from us Zordon!" Adam stressed before he and Tanya teleported themselves home leaving only Katherine and Tommy.

"Kat, I think I'm going to stay here for a bit," Tommy said quietly. Katherine turned to look her boyfriend in the eye only to find that his gaze had drifted to Kimberly lying on the bed. She sighed sadly, it was exactly what she had been worried about in the first place only now it was so much more complicated.

Katherine loved Tommy with all her heart, even under Rita's spell it wasn't a far stretch for her to say it was love at first sight. The more she got to know about Tommy the more her love for him grew when she realised he wasn't just another good looking guy but he was kind, caring and loyal. She knew it was cliche but he really was the perfect guy.

She was there when he received Kimberly's letter, when his heart was completely broken. It had changed him, forced him to become more tentative with people and isolated. Katherine couldn't have allowed it to happen and she had vowed to do what she could as a friend to get him through. Slowly they had grown into what they were now. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"Tommy, you heard Zordon and Billy," She said, trying to be patient, "There's nothing else we can do for her here, not until she wakes up,"

"I just...I feel like I'm responsible," He sighed, "If we hadn't been arguing, if I hadn't yelled at her..." Katherine shrugged her shoulders lightly. There was no use arguing with him, clearly he had made up his mind.

"Alright," She said quietly,"Just call me when you get home okay?"

Tommy nodded while Katherine pressed a kiss to his cheek then teleported out of the command centre leaving Tommy completely alone in the med-bay with Kimberly.

He wasn't sure why he had wanted to stay behind while the others left and he knew that over the past few days he had hardly said more than a handful of sentences to his girlfriend Katherine. Slowly he dragged a chair over to sit next to Kimberly's bed.

"You know, I had so many things I wanted to say to you," He said quietly, "And now you're here...I don't know where to start." Tommy took in a deep breath running his hands over his hair.

"I should hate you. I know I should see you as the terrible person who broke me but I just...can't," He said helpless, "You wrote me a 'dear John' to tell me that you'd found someone else and I know I should have tried to call you, to fight for you but I was so...so... wounded that hearing your voice would have just killed me,"

He paused taking in her figure, searching for any sign that she could hear him or that she was going to wake up. A familiar sting came from behind his eyes, his vision blurring from the unshed tears. What did it matter if he cried, he was alone.

"I was getting better...I had finally gotten to a place where I wasn't thinking of you so much. I had even started to date again," he said with a strained bitter laugh.

"I don't know how you feel about Katherine, she reminded me of you in a way..." He scowled suddenly looking down at the former Pink rangers peaceful face. Suddenly he leapt from his chair and began to pace. He needed to move, frustration pulling at his muscles.

"Fuck Kim, why did you have to come back!?" He spat, "I...I don't need this! I was content...hell, I was almost happy and then you come back and you make me...you make me question everything that I thought was right!" He grabbed fistfuls of his hair in frustration, growling under his breath as he paced back and fourth in front of the bed, tears running unchecked.

"Well fuck you!" He shouted, "You don't have the right to mess with my head anymore but what you are going to do is you're going to wake up and give me some fucking answers!" He stalked back over to the bed leaning over the unconscious woman, he hands placed at either side of her head.

"Wake. Up." He growled. Kimberly made no response, even with Tommy's face barely inches away from hers. He took in her familiar features as he gazed down at her, his tears dripping to her cheek. The anger that Tommy had felt towards her slowly began to ebb leaving nothing but a hollow pain in his chest.

"Kim, please..." He whispered, "Please wake up..."

* * *

"And you're telling me he's still there? Right now?!" Tanya exclaimed sitting across the table from Katherine. After Katherine had left the command center the first thing she did was contact Tanya, she didn't want to be alone so Tanya had suggested they headed to the juice bar.

"As far as I know, yes. Tanya I don't know what to do, he just looked so...lost," Katherine sighed. Tanya frowned. She had never really met Kimberly but she had heard lots about her, almost everything she had heard was positive, except of course, the letter.

"Listen, I get that this is a hard time for Tommy but what you need to do is fight for your man!" She stressed, pointing at Katherine to emphasise what she was saying. Katherine frowned in confusion.

"I don't know what you mean..."

"Well let me put it this way," She said, "How do you feel about Kimberly?"

Katherine sat back in her seat and looked down at the table in thought. How did she really feel about Kimberly? The girl she had once known had never been anything other than lovely, a sweet soul and although she hated to admit it, Kimberly and Tommy had made practically the perfect couple. She didn't hate Kimberly, she was afraid of Kimberly.

"I'm scared Tanya," Katherine admitted, "I'm scared that Kim is going to wake up and take him away from me," Tanya nodded in understanding.

"The way I see it, you have two options. The first is you can do nothing, stand by and watch Tommy fall right back into the same trap again," She said, counting on her fingers, "The second, is you can remind him of the reasons he fell for you in the first place after Kim dumped him!"

Katherine knew her friends heart was in the right place, she just wanted to see Katherine and Tommy happy but at the same time, Katherine wasn't sure now was the best time to start playing war games when Tommy was already distant.

"I'll think about," Katherine said. Tanya simply sat back with a self satisfied smile.

* * *

Billy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, pulling his glasses off for a moment to rest his eyes from the relentless reading he had done. He knew the others must have felt the same.

Every text Zordon had given him all mentioned the same thing. How Maligore would feed on the Purity of his offerings leaving them a shell of their former selves with all their inner hate and frustration coming to the surface. Nothing seemed to mention what happened if the people were cured of the affliction.

"Perhaps that's because nobody ever has been cured..." he mused to himself out loud. Pushing himself away from the table, Billy stood up and wandered over to the coffee machine he had installed in his make shift workshop to pour himself yet another mug.

As he walked past his work bench, something caught his eye hidden under mass piles of paper. A small blue leather-bound book with a gold trim stuck out and Billy pulled it from under the other documents.

"Myths of Liaria: A brief history," Billy read the cover of the book out loud to himself and suddenly felt a pang of hope. What if studying Maligore was the wrong way to go about things? Quickly, his coffee forgotten, he sat down and opened the book, frantically flipping through the pages and scribbling notes as he went.

* * *

Tommy had left the command centre hours ago. He had finally screamed, kicked and cried his frustrations out and decided that he was going to drive himself crazy if he didn't get home, at the very least to get a shower. So Kimberly was left alone.

The sounds of computers and machinery was the first thing Kimberly registered as her eyes slowly opened. At first the light stung but slowly shapes began to come into focus, so crisp and clear, it was like she was seeing things for the first time.

Slowly and gently, Kimberly pushed herself up so she was sitting and she noticed she was still wearing the same pink Chuck Taylors, cropped skinny jeans and white tank top she had been before she had passed out. She noticed with a smile that the pounding feeling in her head had finally disappeared completely. She felt different, like her body wasn't her own.

"Kimberly, you're awake!" a familiar voice laced with a smile said and Kimberly turned to the door of the room to see Billy walking through holding on to what looked like a very old book.

"Billy," She breathed, "How long have I been out for?"

"At least 36 hours," he said, "You've had us all worried sick!" Kimberly looked sheepishly towards her feet.

"Sorry...do you have any idea what happened to me? The last thing I remember was talking with Tommy..." Billy nodded.

"I have a hypothesis that I think is correct," He pulled the book open at page he had marked, "I don't think Laragot completely got rid of the flame of Destruction, I think he altered it somehow instead. See it says here that 5,000 years ago a comet containing great evil was going to strike the planet Liaria and wipe out everything pure that existed there. The spiritual council created a weapon, more than a weapon, a being of pure light to combat the evil that threatened their planet." Kimberly frowned in confusion.

"Alright, but what does that have to do with me?" she asked.

"They called it Lux Vera, the complete opposite to the flame of destruction. It only manifests itself in a being when there is great evil threatening peace," Kimberly violently shook her head, pushing herself off the small bed and pacing.

"No, No way, you must have something wrong!" She stressed, "That can't be right!"

"Kimberly, I believe Billy to be correct," Zordon confirmed, "Alpha and I have been able to track the changes in your body and they are consistent with Billy's research."

"And everyone else...do they know?!" She shouted. Billy nodded but said nothing, already wary of his friend.

"Well that's just fucking great isn't it?" She spat, continuing to pace frantically around the room back and fourth. "You know, how come it's always me huh? How come this isn't happening to Jason, he went through the same thing!" Nervous, Billy cleared his throat.

"I have another theory on that..." He began but quickly was cut off by Kimberly.

"Oh Billy, Please...I don't think I can take anymore of your theories today." She shouted, "I want to know how to fix this!"

She could feel that burning sensation building in her chest once more, only this time, it wasn't painful. It made her feel powerful, her muscles tightening, her fingers tingling with electricity the more active her mind became. She could feel everything.

Billy tore his eyes away from Kimberly who had began holding her head in a struggle to keep up control, his eyes stinging slightly as the bright lights began to flicker. The machines that remained hooked to Kimberly's body had begun a staccato of wild beeping as her heart raced within her chest.

"Zordon, what's going on!?" Billy shouted above the noise of the machines.

"Kimberly, you must maintain control of your emotions!" Zordon commanded. Billy turned his attention back to his friend who had crouched down to the ground, her eyes scrunched shut and holding her head tightly.

"Zordon we need to do something, Kimberly could bring this whole place down!" He stressed.

It was like someone had suddenly turned a light switch on in her head, like the last loose wire was finally connected. Kimberly's eyes snapped open, her dark brown iris completely removed to show nothing but white but she had never seen so clearly.

Slowly she stood, her gaze fixed on her hands. Any imperfections on her skin had been completely removed, even her nails looked healthy and perfectly rounded as opposed to the previously chewed talons she was used to. The thing that Kimberly was most interested in was how she felt. She had never felt vitality like it!

"Kimberly?! Are you alright?" Billy asked and she turned her head to him. Billy jumped back in astonishment at her appearance.

"I feel...amazing!" She said in surprise, "I can feel everything around me, Billy it's the most fantastic feeling!" Billy was pleased to note that his friend didn't seem to be in any kind of pain but her appearance was unnerving to say the least. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Kim...you...you're glowing, look!" Billy nodded in the direction of a pane of glass that allowed rangers to see from the Med bay into main chamber. Kimberly gasped at herself.

Billy hadn't been exaggerating when he had said she was glowing. Her whole body held a white aura, her hair almost floating around her and her eyes completely white. Slowly she moved closer to her own reflection, reaching her hand up to touch her face with shaking fingers.

"Am I stuck this way?!" She asked quietly. Billy shook his head.

"I don't think so...I still have to go over some of the text but I believe it's all linked to your emotions," Her friend said picking the book back up. Kimberly squinted at herself.

"But I don't know how to control this?!" She exclaimed, "Am I going to be stuck this way until I know what the hell I'm doing?!" She continued to stare at her reflection. The feeling of power and well being made her body feel like a million dollars but what was the use of feeling that way if she was going to end up confined to the command center.

"Billy, we came as soon as we could...Oh!" Through the door came Trini, Jason, Adam, Aisha and Tommy but all five of the veteran Rangers stopped dead in their tracks on seeing Kimberly staring at her reflection in the glass, the glow illuminating the room.

The group moved slowly into the room, unsure of what they could say or do. Kimberly knew they were there, if she hadn't heard them she could definitely feel their presence. The gymnast was terrified to turn around and see their reaction.

"Kim...Um, are you alright?" Tommy said quietly, moving forward from the group towards her. With a deep breath she squeezed her eyes shut then turned to face him and see his reaction head on.

When Kimberly looked Tommy in the face she expected him to recoil in horror, or at least staring at her with the confused look she had seen so many times. Instead when she looked up at him he was smiling down at her. She frowned.

"You're not freaked out are you?" She asked. Tommy laughed lightly.

"Oh, completely...but it seems to have, I dunno, calmed down or something," He said. Kimberly frowned and lifted her hands to her eye line. Just as Tommy had said the glow had disappeared. Quickly Kimberly spun herself back to look at her reflection, sure enough her eyes were back to their normal dark brown and her hair was no longer floating around a glowing aura. She looked as normal as she always had.

"I don't understand..." She mumbled, "I was lit up light a christmas tree and now I'm...me again. What's going on?!" Billy continued to frantically scan through the blue book.

"As I was saying earlier, I think it's connected to your emotions," Billy said, "Those powers seem to trigger when you're around or experiencing strong emotions. You must have felt a calming influence. I think with some practice, you'll be able to control this,"

"Alright...I think," She said quietly, "I guess I don't really have much of a choice."

"We'll keep looking, there's gotta be something that we can do," Tommy said and she gave him a small smile in appreciation. Suddenly something occurred to her, something Billy had said earlier.

"Zordon, Billy had said that this...thing...was created to combat evil. That it would only show itself when evil was a threat..."

"That is correct Kimberly," Zordon said. Kimberly turned to her friends.

"Then what's coming?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I should also note for folk that may worry about ship bashing. As much as I dislike Kat and Tommy together, I am NOT a Katherine basher. I hope to make her out to be more than a jealous bitchy character.

* * *

"The...what?"

"The Lazarus Comet, I read about it in the paper only a few days ago and it was too close to be a coincidence," Trini said, sitting herself down in front of one of the computer monitors.

"Trini, that's brilliant! I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before!" The former blue ranger said beaming at his friend. Trini blushed lightly. "It says here it was a comet that threatened Laragot's home world. It all makes sense." Trini shook her head.

"But the comet isn't on a collision course with earth, it's just passing very close to the atmosphere. Not enough to do any physical damage," Billy frowned and nodded.

"Still, it's got to be connected somehow, " Tommy spoke up, "Trini's right, it's just too much of a coincidence not to be connected."

Kimberly had remained quiet since her first initial question as she wondered what her role was in all of this. It was all very well Billy and Zordon telling her she had somehow acquired an ancient power that would defend the earth from evil but it was a daunting prospect putting it into action. Kimberly had no idea how this power worked or what she could do with it! Was she supposed to shout the comet from the sky? Point at it and ask it nicely to just stop?

"Rangers, I believe you are correct but there is much more we must do before we know the actions we can take," Zordon reasoned, "I suggest you all go home and rest. I will contact you if I learn of any changes."

Kimberly sighed and pushed herself away from the wall she had been leaning on. All she really wanted to do was go back to her home, take a shower and change her clothes, painfully aware that she was still in her grubby clothes that she had worn to unpack her apartment. Just as she was about to press her transporter, Zordon stopped her.

"Kimberly, I believe it would be best if you remained here until you have better control over your new found abilities..." Kimberly clenched her jaw in irritation, her skin glowing lightly and the other rangers watched her reaction very carefully in case her powers got out of control.

"You know, a lot of people seem to think they know what's best for me," Kimberly said carefully, "but they never actually ask me what I want. What I want, is to go home to my own space and take a shower," Zordon almost sighed.

"Very well Kimberly but you must make contact the moment something abnormal happens," he said. Kimberly tried her best not to snort.

"None of this is normal," She muttered, "I'll see you guys later,"

"Do you want any of us to come with you?" Aisha asked but Kimberly shook her head with a small smile at her friend.

"Don't worry about me, I just want a little space," Kimberly said, "I'll see you guys later!"

In a flash of white light Kimberly was gone without a trace leaving behind her worried friends.

"Zordon, what can we do? Kimberly isn't going to want us baby sitting her around the clock," Adam said, Tommy and Jason nodding in agreement. Tommy remembered how bad a patient Kimberly had been in the past, even trying to leave her hospital bed to help the rangers when they were called. She had always been stubborn that way.

"All you can do is keep a watchful eye from a distance," Zordon said, "And be there for Kimberly when she needs you,"

"You're right, but I still think I should go over and just check that she's alright," Jason said. Just as he was about to press his communicator to transport himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Guys, we know you want to help but what this situation needs is a little girl time!" Aisha said pointing between herself and Trini.

"What Kimberly needs is to learn how to use these powers safely!" Jason said, "She could been in danger until she has herself under control."

"Urgh, spoken like a true leader," Trini scoffed, "Do you really think that Kim wants to be studied and trained like some kind of lab rat!? What she needs is her friends to just be her friends!" Tommy nodded in agreement.

"You guys are right," he said, "I think Kim's been through enough for one day. I'll go with you..." Trini reached out to stop Tommy.

"Guys, we know you mean well and believe me when I say that we love you...but when we say girl time, we mean just the girls!" Aisha nodded with a grin.

"Don't worry guys, any problems and you'll be the first to know!" The two women followed in Kimberly's example, leaving the command center in a flash of yellow lights and the other men standing looking lost.

"Well what now? We've officially been banned from Kimberly's place..." Tommy sighed running his hand over his hair.

"Hey, if the girls are having their night, we can have ours," Adam said, "There's a hockey game on Sports Center tonight!"

"You know, that sounds like an awesome idea. We'll call Rocky and Zack on the way," Tommy said with a smile, "Billy, you in?"

"I think it might be better if I assist Alpha with this research," He said but Jason shook his head.

"Come on Billy, You need to take a break," Jason insisted, "You've been working round the clock!" Billy nodded reluctantly.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to take the night off," He smiled. The four men, all in agreement, teleported from the command centre.

* * *

Kimberly had a lazy smile on her face as she emerged from her bathroom wrapped in a fluffy towel with another one wrapped around her head. It was wonderful to feel clean again after having spent over forty hours wearing the same clothes.

Now she was finally alone Kimberly felt like she was able to take things in a little bit more, like her head could wrap around this change. She had dealt with spells before, heck, she had been a ranger before. The advanced state of strength and speed was no different. Being able to feel and react to the emotions of others, that was a little more daunting.

Kimberly pulled on a pair of pink plaid shorts, a plain white tank top and a pair of large fluffy socks ready to finally spend a relaxing evening in her own place. She had just settled herself down onto her sofa when the door bell rang. Kimberly scowled pushing herself back to her feet.

"If this is Jason or Tommy I swear to God..." She muttered stomping her way to the door. The scowl was quickly replaced with a relieved smile when she saw Aisha and Trini both standing there, bags in hand.

"Hey you guys!" Kimberly greated with a grin, "I thought you might have been Jason or Tommy?" Aisha and Trini moved past her and put their bags on the kitchen counter.

"Nope! We chansed them off," Trini said, "Told them that the girls needed time for a proper catch up!"

"And you know that includes wine!" Aisha said, pulling multiple bottles out of the bag. Kimberly was thrilled, although she had been looking forward to a quiet night alone, this suddenly seemed like a much better idea.

"Okay Aisha, you call for Pizza. Kim, you get the wine poured," Trini said, "I'll unpack the rest of these snacks. We'll get changed into our jammies and meet on the sofa in three minutes!"

* * *

"Help yourself to beer, the fridge is totally stocked!" Rocky said to the group as they entered the apartment he shared with Adam. Tommy, Jason, Billy, Adam and Zack had done the same as the girls and had gone to pick up snacks for an evening of ice hockey and catching up. They had even run into Trini and Aisha at the same store.

Jason walked over to the fridge, pulling out bottles of Budwiser and handing them over to his friends, Tommy twisting the cap off and taking a swig. He couldn't remember the last time he had simply hung out with his friends, just caught up with the guys. It was a good feeling.

"So, everything alright with Kimberly?" Rocky asked. Nobody in the room really knew how to answer the question.

"Physically, she seems fine," Tommy said, "She was awake when we arrived but she was...glowing..."

"Glowing?!" Tommy took another swig of his beer remembering Kimberly's bright white eyes staring back at him.

"Yeah...glowing. Her eyes were all white and she had this glow around her...it was weird man!" Tommy said. Jason sniggered.

"And then she took one look at you and went right back to normal!" He added with a grin. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything Bro, We don't know what this...thing...even does!" He scoffed and wandered over to the sofa in front of the large screen television to join Billy and Adam.

"Well I think it's awesome that Kim's back," Rocky announced while he put the snacks out on the table in front of the sofa, "I've missed having her around!"

"I bet you're not the only one..." Jason said nodding towards Tommy.

"Shut up Bro, the games about to start..." Tommy said awkwardly but he was silently relieved when the guys shut up and began to get into the game.

"And do you remember that time you fell in love with Skull!?" Aisha said, laughing so hard tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Oh my God, are you kidding me?" Trini exclaimed in disbelief while laughing as hard as the other two girls. Kimberly pouted.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" She said holding her hands up in defense, "I was under a love spell!"

"Ooooh Skull! How could I ever have dated that loooooser Tommy!" Aisha mocked causing the other two to howl with laughter once more. Kimberly couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much and she had missed her friends greatly. The three girls were two bottles of wine down and had began swapping stories about their ranger days having already caught up on what they had been doing while separated.

"Hey, he forgave me for that!" Kimberly said, her laughter dying down to a light chuckle. Trini looked at her friend softly.

"Kim, why did you and Tommy break up?" She asked gently, "You were the perfect couple!"

Kimberly paused at the sudden question. She felt like she should have been in more of a panic but the wine in her system had her strangely relaxed.

"I...I don't know...I guess it was the distance thing..." She mumbled but Aisha and Trini weren't buying her story. Aisha leaned over and filled her friends glasses.

"Come on Kim, we all know that's not true," Aisha said, "You're with friends here," Kimberly smiled sadly at the two former rangers. If she couldn't tell them, then how on earth could she speak to Tommy.

"For a while after I left things were fine," She said taking in a deep breath and another gulp of wine, "We spoke all the time and even when he missed a call because of Ranger business he would always call me right back, sometimes he even sent me presents to make up for it...he made things so...easy on me," She said, smiling back at the memories. Aisha and Trini both looked confused but leaned forward to hear more of Kimberly's story.

"Well...then what happened if everything was so perfect?" Trini asked.

"I got a call on my communicator from Zoron. I got such a fright, I hadn't heard it go off for such a long time! He told me that there was some kind of problem with Tommy, that there was an emotional link that was causing Tommy to lose his focus when he was out with the Rangers. I tried to ignore it but then I'd speak to Tommy and he'd be hurt again,"

"So...Zordon told you to break it off?" Trini said in shock. Both her and Aisha sat open mouthed while Kimberly tried to quickly brush away the tears on her cheeks while nodding.

"I resisted for such a long time but then I spoke to Jason and..."

"Jason!? He convinced you it was a good idea!?" Trini said, almost shouting with the shock. She couldn't believe someone who had been such good friends to both Tommy and Kimberly would have supported something like this.

"He said that the longer the link existed the more distracted Tommy was going to get and that he could end up getting killed. Zordon convinced me it was best for both of us. I had been losing focus at training, I'd been injured twice!"

"But wasn't this something that could have just been solved with a long weekend visit? Did you really have to break up?!"

"I know, I know! I didn't want to do it, but Zordon kept saying something about Ranger energy and how when we received the Ninjetti powers we had become connected and if we didn't server the emotional connection then it would only get worse. We were going to start feeling each others pain...I didn't want anything to happen to Tommy," She sobbed hopelessly. Both Trini and Aisha moved to either side of Kimberly, wrapping their arms around their distressed friend.

"And the worst part is? He believed me so easily! He didn't even call or try to speak to me. He just believed me and then moved on...I was left behind...And I still love him..."

"Oh Kim, It'll be alright," Trini tried to soothe her friend, "You'll get over..." He voice suddenly trailed off when she suddenly looked into her friends face.

Kimberly's once brown eyes had changed to a bright white without any trace of pupil or Iris and the tears that were running down her face a sparkling silver colour. When Trini sat back to look at her properly, she noticed that the small gymnast was once again glowing.

"Oh my God, Kim, you're glowing again!" Aisha said in awe of her friend. Kimberly sniffed and wiped her cheeks, the silvery liquid all over her hands. Suddenly she was off the sofa and staring at herself in a nearby mirror.

"And now I need to look like this!?" She exclaimed, "I don't even know how to control it!" Trini and Aisha stood up to join her.

"You're upset Kim, and we know it's triggered by your emotions at the moment so we just need to get you to calm down!" Trini said in a soothing voice, both hands on her glowing friend's shoulders, "You'll be able to control this in time!"

"I don't even know where to begin..." She sighed. Trini and Aisha both smiled.

"We'll help you train. You're not going to be alone in this Kim," Aisha said, "I mean look, you've stopped crying and you're already not glowing anymore!"

Kimberly turned back to look at herself in the mirror and sure enough Aisha was right. The bright glow had already began to disappear. She smiled back at her friends.

"Thanks you guys, I don't know what I would do without you!" She said, wrapping both her friends in a tight hug. Trini lead the group back to Kimberly's sofa where Aisha opened another bottle of wine and topped up her friends glasses. There was a beeping noise from the side of the sofa causing Aisha to put the bottle down and pick up her cell phone.

"It's Tanya," She said reading the message, "She's with Kat and they want to know if we're doing anything?" She asked looking towards Trini and Kimberly, who had seemingly returned to normal. She sat quietly for a moment knowing that Trini and Aisha wanted to know how she felt. Kimberly took another gulp of wine. She didn't know Tanya at all but from what she had been told, Tanya was a nice girl and she of course knew Katherine.

"If they wanted to join us...I wouldn't mind," Kimberly said carefully. Trini and Aisha smiled at their friend but both were unsure of their friends decision.

"Are you sure Kim? You know how upset you were..." Aisha said but Kimberly nodded.

"I know...but I need to accept that Tommy and Kat are together," She said sadly, "And we need to all co-exist together. Kat isnt a bad person and I don't really know Tanya...so invite them over and we'll have a nice night together!" Trini nodded with a smile.

"And tell them to bring more wine!"

* * *

The game had long since finished but each of the men hanging out in Rocky and Adam's apartment were far past the legal limit to drive from the number of beers each they had drunk. Luckily Rocky had assured them there was plenty in stock.

The conversation had slowly moved from the game in front of them to ranger business, life after the rangers and then onto each mans personal life. Tommy knew each of his friends were dying to ask him about Kimberly and Katherine but what surprised him the most was that after a good number of beers he actually felt comfortable talking about it.

"So, I gotta ask," Rocky started, being the first brave soul to start the subject, "What happened with Kim man?" Tommy took another swig of his beer as the rest of his friends stared at his face intently, Adam leaning forward on his knees in interest.

"Heh, what part? The break up? The island? Or when she passed out in my arms?" He asked with a small shrug.

"You know what I mean," Rocky said, "You guys were the perfect couple. Everyone in school said so!" Tommy locked eyes with Jason noticing that his friend was competely unrelenting. He sighed once more and sat back against the sofa.

"What do you want me to say? That I was completely in love with this girl and for no reason she completely broke my heart with a letter?" He took another drink of his beer, allowing the liquid to do its job and continue to relax his senses.

"Didn't you try and talk to her?" Adam asked. Tommy shook his head.

"I wanted to, I really did. I had even asked Zordon if I could use the teleporter to go down there and demand an explanation face to face but he refused," Tommy said sadly, "I was so torn up I just couldn't stand to ever hear her voice..."

"I'm sure there was a better explanation for it..." Jason said quietly, desperately wanting to move away from the awkward subject.

"Well you would know, you're such good friends with her," Tommy muttered, the alcohol removing in internal censor that he had. Jason frowned and sat at a little straighter, equally as intoxicated as his friend.

"Hey, come on now, that is not fair and you know it," Jason growled, "I've been friends with Kimberly since grade school,"

"Yeah exactly," Tommy spat suddenly, "I know for a fact you must know more about her reasons and it just kills me that you wouldn't tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell, you know as much as I do!" The former red ranger exclaimed as the other men remained silent, not wanting to get in the middle of something that could turn so volatile.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Tommy shouted, "All I want to hear from you...from her...anyone, is the truth!" Jason remained quiet, his eyes locked onto his friends until he gave the smallest of nods.

"Tommy, I love you like a brother," Jason said, his voice thick with emotion, "But you of all people should understand that I can't break Kim's trust like that. Even if I wanted to, she didn't tell me the whole reason."

The atmosphere in the room was so tense that nobody dared to move while Jason and Tommy stared each other down.

"Then tell me one thing," Tommy said quietly, "When Kim and I were arguing, she told me that there was nobody else. She had lied in the letter. Do you know if she was telling the truth?"

Jason shifted forward in his seat, his eyes never daring to look away from Tommy's. He couldn't stand to have Tommy feel he was lying, not now.

"Tommy, I swear on our friendship that there was never anyone else," Jason said doing his best to keep his voice even, "You know after she sent that letter we couldn't get hold of her for about 2 weeks. She didn't train, she didn't answer her phone. Hell, she didn't speak to me until I had to physically go there and see her. I can promise you, she was a wreck,"

Tommy sighed and his whole posture relaxed as he sat back into the sofa. The rest of the group also visibly relaxed seeing that the situation was seemingly resolved. Tommy laughed bitterly.

"Then I just don't get it..."

* * *

When Kimberly's eyes opened she hadn't expected her clock to read five AM and she was more than a little annoyed about it. With a sigh she pushed herself up on her hands, her room was still bathed in darkness but for some reason she couldn't sleep.

Once Kimberly had calmed herself down and washed her face, Katherine and Tanya had joined the three women in their girly evening. By the time they were all about ready to sleep Kimberly had insisted that everyone stay the night since almost everyone was far too over the legal limit to drive. She growled lightly to herself deciding that she wanted a drink of water.

Slowly Kimberly shuffled through to her kitchen but her whole body jumped with fright seeing that she wasn't alone. The other figure yelped and spun around to face her.

"Oh Kimberly! I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" Katherine asked in her sweet Australian accent. Kimberly smiled, her hand on her chest while her heart beat from the sudden scare.

"No, not at all Kat," She said quietly, "I just didn't expect anyone else to be awake!" Kat smiled and nodded.

"I just had to get a drink, all the wine has really done a number on me!" She said lightly. Kimberly nodded in agreement but suddenly felt awkward around the blonde girl. The two women hadn't spent any time alone together since long before Kimberly had originally left for Florida. Now Katherine wasn't just her ranger replacement but now she had Tommy, as Kimberly was painfully aware.

Kimberly quickly grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and gave Katherine an awkward smile.

"Well...I'm gonna go back to bed..." She said awkwardly and she moved to spin on her heel and head back to the safe solitude of her bedroom.

"Kim...wait," Kat said, her voice quiet but urgent. Kimberly turned back to face the girl with a curious look, "I really think we should clear the air..."

"I didn't think there was any air to clear..." Kimberly started but Katherine cut her off with a sharp laugh.

"Oh come on Kim, you can't be that blind. You know as well as I do things have been tense and I really think if we're all going to be together then we need to work through it!"

Kimberly knew that Katherine was right, there had been a lot of tension whenever they had been around each other and no doubt this was probably the best time for them to talk. She gave a small nod and sat herself down on a stool next to the breakfast bar.

"You're right Kat," She said with a faint smile, "We should talk,"

Katherine smiled back and took in a deep breath not really sure about what she was going to say. There was so much she wanted to say or ask but she was so afraid of the answer. Slowly she sat herself down opposite from Kimberly.

"Kim, I don't blame you if you have any bad feelings towards me," Katherine began with a shaky voice, "I know I took your place as the Pink ranger...and that it looks like I took Tommy as well but I want to let you know nothing happened with Tommy until long after the two of you had broken up!"

Kimberly sat quietly allowing Katherine's words to sink in. She would have been lying if she had said she didn't suspect that Katherine had pounced the moment she had left for Florida, but she knew Tommy was far too loyal to have gone behind her back.

"Katherine, you represent everything that I would have had if I had decided to stay here instead of going to Florida and sometimes, honestly, it's hard for me to watch," Kimberly said honestly, "But it was my choice. I'm the one that chose you to take my place as a ranger...and I still stand by my decision. There isn't anybody else I could have chosen as my re...replacement,"

Kimberly did her best to catch the tears that had formed in her eyes but it was no use as a few ran down her cheeks. She suddenly didn't feel so awkward when she noticed Katherine was also having the same problem and the Australian grabbed the nearby kitchen tissues and handed them to Kimberly after grabbing a few for herself.

"As far as Tommy goes, you don't have to worry," Kimberly continued while drying her eyes, "I'm not in the business of breaking up relationships. I broke up with Tommy a long time ago, that was my choice," She reached over and held Katherine's hand.

"I know that you're good for him," She said and Katherine put her own hand over Kimberly's, fresh tears running down her cheeks, "And he's crazy about you! So don't worry, just go and be happy with Tommy," Katherine suddenly shot up from her seat, the stool clattering against the floor and she threw her arms around Kimberly in a fierce hug, the two women sobbing on each others shoulders.

"Thank you Kim!" Katherine sobbed, "I...I don't know what to say, I don't think I could be as big a person as you..."

"Hey...don't worry about me," Kimberly said through her tears, "We're all gonna be fine!" Katherine nodded with a watery smile and pulled back to look at her friend. The smile from her face suddenly fell.

"Kim! You're glowing?!" She exclaimed, "Is this what Billy was talking about?" Kimberly sighed looking at her hands.

"Oh...yeah that's been happening a lot," She said sadly, "I don't know how to control it yet...hoping I will soon. Have my eyes gone that...way?" She said gesturing to her eyes with her hands as Katherine stared at her in a complete state of shock.

"um...uhuh..." she muttered. Kimberly almost laughed out loud at the pink Ranger's reaction to her change, she had completely forgotten that Katherine had yet to see the drastic transformation.

"It normally goes away once I calm down...I've done a lot of crying the past twenty four hours," She explained but Katherine could still only stand there and nod mutely, "Jeez Kat, I'm hardly going to suck all your blood out,"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," Katherine exclaimed, "It's just...a bit of a shock..."

Suddenly Kimberly burst out into a loud laugh at the look on her friends face, despite her growing anxiety about not being able to control what was happening to her. Already the glow had began to die down and her eyes were changing back to their normal brown colour.

"Oh...it's gone?" Katherine said. Kimberly just nodded.

"I know right? It seems to just switch on when I'm really emotional. I'd hate to see what it could do if I were really angry!" She joked. Katherine smiled back but inside still felt nervous.

"Tell you what," Kimberly began again to ensure there was no awkward silence, "I know it's still early but I really can't sleep. How about you and me get cleaned up and go to one of the early stores to get some breakfast stuff?" Katherine grinned.

"That sounds like a great idea!" She said with glee. Kimberly gave her a nod and began to make her way towards her room, "Oh and Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. There's not many people who would be as understanding as you in the same situation..."

"You're welcome Katherine,"


	5. Chapter 5

"How is the device coming along?" Lord Zedd's rough voice boomed around his throne room to Divatox who stood timidly in the middle.

"We are running on schedule my Lord," She answered, her hands fidgeting in front of her, "Goldar assured me we will be ready to divert the Lazarus comet," Lord Zedd nodded at her and stood up from his throne, walking forward towards the pirate queen.

"I am sensing this is not the only news you have for me Divatox. You would do well to tell me sooner than later..." Divatox gulped and took in a deep breath.

"My Lord, we received some strange readings," She said, her voice shaking, "It has shown us that the power of Lux Vera has manifested itself in one of the humans,"

Lord Zedd remained silent for a moment and Divatox wished she could have read his facial expression to get any sign of how he was feeling. The unknown made her all the more afraid. Slowly he paced back and forth in front of her.

"Which human?" He asked quietly, his voice no more than a growl. Divatox did her best to keep her head high.

"Our sources tell us that it's Kimberly Hart," She said quietly, "An ex Power Ranger."

Suddenly Lord Zedd let out an outraged shout, his arm swinging out and smashing Divatox across the face sending her to the ground with crimson blood beginning to pour from the gash left on her lip.

"I know who she is you idiot!" He screamed, "You do not seem to understand what a threat this is to all of my carefully laid plans! If Zordon and those Rangers discover how to activate the great weapon then everything will be ruined..." He paused looking back down at the woman who cowered on the floor before him.

"No matter," He said, his whole demeanor changing in an instant, "We still have time to fix this. The weapon is nothing if the Rangers can't get to the original power coins. Divatox, take your crew and retrieve the power coins before the Rangers."

Slowly Divatox pushed herself up from the cold stone floor, wiping the blood from her chin, she meekly nodded at Lord Zedd and she began to leave the throne room.

"Oh and Divatox?" She turned back to face the being.

"Yes my Lord?"

"If you fail...Do you bother returning."

* * *

Things had suddenly become much easier since Kimberly and Katherine had spoken in Kimberly's kitchen. It was like the air had suddenly cleared and even the others had noticed it. Tanya still felt apprehensive towards the former pink ranger but if Kimberly was honest, she couldn't blame the girl. If the tables were turned, Kimberly would have felt the same.

The girls had enjoyed a mildly hung over breakfast of pancakes, bacon and coffee when they had been beeped by Zordon to come to the command centre as soon as they could. The five woman scrambled themselves in a frantic flurry of hair, make-up and clothes trying to rid themselves of the last traces of their night. An hour later they arrived in the command center in front of a group of amused men.

"Man, what took you guys so long?" Rocky said with a smug grin, "We've been here for almost an hour now..."

"You can't beep us at ten in the morning and expect us to be ready at a moments notice," Aisha shrugged, "Besides, if it was so important Zordon would have told us it was urgent."

Kimberly ignored the pang in her gut as she saw Katherine walk over to Tommy and plant a gentle kiss on his lips. It wasn't her place to be upset, Tommy didn't belong to her any more. Trini put her arm gently around her friend in a silent show of support.

"Rangers and old friends, I have assembled you here today because Alpha and I have learned of how Lux Vera can be combined with the great power to create a weapon of unspeakable power," Zordon said, his voice reverberating around the command centre chamber. Billy suddenly stood from where he had leaned on a console, full of interest in the new discovery.

"How?" Alpha moved over to another console and began to press buttons.

"It's really quite simple Billy," Alpha said indicating to his monitor, "The original power coins still hold in them a trigger that can channel the energy into a beam of pure light that will destroy the comet," Billy nodded in understanding.

"Well, where are the power coins?" Zack asked.

"The original power coins were far too valuable to be simply kept here," Zordon said, "They were given for safe keeping to a being I trust implicitly. In order for our plan to work you must retrieve the coins and bring them back here, in order for the original rangers to charge the coins."

Kimberly frowned as the group talked about their plan. It made sense to her that in some way the power coins would be a factor, they were originally the most pure energy against evil in the galaxy. What made her uncomfortable suddenly was the fact everyone seemed to be talking as if she wasn't in the room.

"So let me get this right," She said quietly, her voice hard, "There's a comet coming...and Lord Zedd is going to change it's path and have it hit earth...and you're going to use me as an intergalactic goodness cannon?!" The people in the room who had been actively taking part in the conversation had the good grace to look sheepish, Billy looking down at his shoes awkwardly.

"Kimberly, come on, we didn't mean it like that..." Tommy said but Kimberly shook her head.

"Really? Cause that's what it sounded like!" She shouted "Can everyone leave for a moment, I want to speak to Zordon alone,"

The group all looked between each other, not completely sure how to react to Kimberly's request. There had never been anything that a ranger, past or present, had said to Zordon that they couldn't have told another Ranger. Jason decided it was best to take the initiative and he nodded sharply.

"Alright guys," He said, "You heard the woman. Lets give them some privacy. Kim, you just call if you need anything okay?" Kimberly smiled at him and nodded gratefully as one by one each Ranger filtered from the command center.

"Kimberly, what is it you wish to discuss?" Zordon asked. Kimberly sighed, all the tension suddenly leaving her body and her shoulders dropping. She sat herself down on a nearby chair.

"What do I do Zordon?" She asked, "I...I don't know how to control this! Every time I get even the tiniest bit upset I start to glow and I can always feel everything around me. It's so distracting," Kimberly paused, running a hand through her long brown hair.

"If I'm going to do this, If I am this almighty weapon that you claim then I need to know how to control and use this power properly," Zordon looked thoughtfully down at his former pink ranger.

"You have always been a strong girl Kimberly and I can see that nothing has changed," he said fondly and Kimberly smiled, "I will help you, as will the other rangers, in training your powers but it will not be easy. You will need to harness your emotions and learn to use that energy against your enemies," She nodded in understanding.

"I have another question," She said, "Remember when I first left the rangers, you told me about the link between me and Tommy...and that I had to break it...Even after all this time I still don't understand why..."

"Love is a dangerous emotion Kimberly and it causes a distraction that became too dangerous for Tommy. It was best for you both that the link was severed,"

"But...Tommy and Kat,"

"There is a difference between love and a true love. Only that kind of love can cause a physical and emotional link between ranger energy. Even when you passed your coin over, that link still remained. If something were to happen to yourself or Tommy, the other would have felt the consequences," He finished in a tone that told Kimberly the subject was closed. She sighed.

"Zordon, when this is over...what's going to happen to me?"

"I cannot be sure yet Kimberly," He said, "But rest assured we will do everything in our power to protect you."

* * *

"You know, I'm pretty impressed," Jason wheezed, falling back onto the park grass as Kimberly hovered above him, "You're not nearly as rusty as I figured you'd be," Kimberly smirked.

Once she had finished with Zordon he had dismissed them all in order for Kimberly to get to training. As soon as she had mentioned it to her friends, Jason had straight away offered to help her with her martial arts.

"Why thank you," She said, "You know I didn't exactly just sit on my butt all day when I was in Florida,"

"It shows. You're much stronger than you used to be," Jason said, pushing himself so he was sitting up while Kimberly sat herself down next to him.

"I don't know if that's anything to do with the extra training or my new found self," She sighed, "But I'm feeling a difference,"

Jason shifted his line of sight to where their other friends sat only a few meters away from them listening to music and generally chatting between themselves about the upcoming challenges they faced.

"You know...you've been picking things up super fast," Jason said, still looking over at his friends, "I wonder if that's because of your new powers,"

"Oh probably," Kimberly said, "My eyesight has never been better, I can hear a pin drop miles away and my reflexes are super fast..." Jason laughed lightly, noticing the matter of fact manner in which Kimberly said the information. It seemed like since her talk with Zordon things had started to sink in for the brunette.

"I propose an experiment..." Jason said suddenly as he shot to his feet, "Hey Tommy!"

"Jason what are you doing?" Kimberly said through clenched teeth.

"I'm good but I'm man enough to admit that there's only one guy better than me," He said, "And I want to see how you do against him!" Kimberly pulled herself up to her feet watching as Tommy walked over.

"What's up?" Tommy asked looking between Jason and an extremely nervous looking Kimberly.

"I want you to spar with Kim," Jason said, "She's just kicked my ass so I want to see how she does against you!" Tommy grinned at his friend.

"Looks like you're going soft in your old age Jase," He teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I can't wait to see your chances," He sniggered.

Kimberly just nodded and the former couple stood facing each other. She couldn't help but notice how particularly handsome he looked in the mid afternoon sun, wearing nothing but a pair of loose fitting jeans and a red sleeveless shirt, his hair tied back neatly.

"I don't know about this Tommy," Kimberly said tentatively, "I don't want to hurt you..." Tommy suddenly let out a loud laugh.

"You? All five four of you?" he said with a twinkle in his eye. Kimberly laughed suddenly with him.

"Hey, didn't you just hear Jason? I took him to school," She mocked, swaggering forward so that she was only a few inches away from his chest. "I'd hate for everyone to see their fearless leader get his ass handed to him by a girl..." Tommy smirked.

"Alright then, whenever you're ready,"

Kimberly took in a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand, she flew towards Tommy in a flurry of kicks and punches. Tommy was surprised to admit he was struggling to keep up, they had trained together many times before but the difference in her speed and strength was unreal in comparison to her height and size. Suddenly he felt her foot land a solid kick in his solar plexus and while he was winded, she grabbed his wrist and jumped to wrap her legs around his neck. The momentum taking him over in a full flip, resulting in him lying on his back and her with his neck and arm completely trapped.

"Wow! Kim that was insane!" Jason shouted in astonishment, giving his friend an applause "Better you than me bro!"

Kimberly released her grip and scrambled to knee over Tommy, worry and remorse written all over her face.

"Tommy are you okay?" She asked quickly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Tommy smiled and pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry I'm fine, "He assured, "Jason's right, that was crazy. Who taught you how to do that?" Kimberly gave him a shy smile.

"I don't know...I just kind of did it on instinct," She said, "It was like, I could see everything in slow motion...I don't know how else to explain it," Kimberly stood up and offered him her hand which he took after a few seconds. The two stood staring at one another and Kimberly realised that this was the first time she had felt brave enough to really look him in the eye properly.

Tommy felt like he couldn't look away from the smaller woman. Even when he tried to look away he felt like his head was stuck in a vice and he was being sucked into her. He watched as her eyes began to cloud over but he was still unable to move.

She could feel everything that he did. She knew he was silently terrified but not for himself, he was afraid for her. Afraid that she was moving past his reach, that she was a different person to the Kimberly he used to know so long ago. Kimberly knew that what she was doing was morally wrong but she couldn't help herself as she concentrated and moved further into his subconscious. She could feel his pain that still lingered from her letter, the panic he had felt when he knew she was the one who had been taken.

Worst of all, she could feel that deep down in the back of his mind, he still loved her more than anything or anybody and that included Katherine. Using all her energy she focused on the hidden link that had suddenly built between them and she severed it, her eyes reverting back to their normal colour and Tommy was able to move once more.

"What the hell was that?!" He asked. Kimberly didn't know what to say, she didn't know if he had felt anything or knew what she had discovered. She shook her head.

"I...I don't know...It was weird," She muttered, "I think I need to do some more of that meditating with Trini..."

"Are you guys good?" Zack asked and Kimberly had noticed the group had moved from their original sitting places. She plastered a smile to her face.

"Oh yeah, totally fine," She said, "Listen guys, I'm totally beat. I'm going to head home and get some quiet time..." Tommy frowned.

"Kim..."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" She exclaimed, grabbing her sweater and quickly walking away from the confused group so they couldn't see the tears that had formed in her eyes.

* * *

Kimberly stormed into her apartment, her head in a complete spin as she paced back and forth in her living room. She knew that she was losing control of her emotions again and her skin was beginning to develop a light glow but she couldn't care. She had more important things to worry about.

At first she didn't know she had somehow locked onto Tommy's memories, it had been an accident brought on by her still unknown powers but when she realised she had done nothing to stop herself seeing from finding out what she wanted to know.

She felt sick with guilt. First of all she had felt things that were completely private, more than private, hidden in Tommy's head for him only but to make matters worse she had uncovered his true feelings. What he felt for Katherine was only a lukewarm affection at best, he valued her companionship but really he was with her out of comfort. The feeling that had enveloped Kimberly when she found his thoughts of her were unlike anything she had ever experienced. The rush alone had almost knocked her from her feet.

"But he's with Kat," She whispered to herself, screwing her eyes closed and holding her temples as she stood in the middle of her living room, "He's with Kat and I'm not going to do anything to change that..."

While Kimberly stood trying her best to calm herself down she didn't hear her front door open and the last person she wanted to see walk boldly into her home.

"Kim?" His voice wasn't harsh or angry, it was concerned. Kimberly's eyes snapped open and she spun around to face the man. There stood Tommy, who had clearly come straight from the park to see her.

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" She asked suddenly feeling very awkward that it was just the two of them. He took a step towards her.

"I had to see if you were okay," He stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, "That weird thing happened and then you just took off. You can't fool me with that poor explanation Kim, I know when something is wrong with you!"

"Oh yeah?" She questioned, "And how do you?" Tommy gave a short, bitter laugh.

"Because I know you," He said, "Or at least, I used to..." Kimberly sighed. She didn't like the direction the conversation seemed to be heading.

"Tommy...I haven't changed," She said quietly, her skin still glowing lightly. Tommy's jaw clenched and he folded his arms.

"Well you know Kim, something did," He said, "Otherwise you never would have sent me that letter..."

"I don't know what you want me to say..." She stressed walking towards the kitchen to try to give herself some distance, at least physically.

Tommy knew he was heading down a dangerous path. The last time they started talking about the letter she had ended up passing out in his arms. Something was different, he thought, she knew something and he wasn't going to give up until he left her home with the truth.

"I just want you to tell me the truth!" he said, his voice raising, "Hell Kimberly after everything we've been through you owe me that much!"

Kimberly frowned and walked towards him trying to study his face. Did he know what she had seen? Or was he just simply being the Tommy Oliver that she knew?

"Both you and Jason told me that there was nobody else," He said, his voice strained, "So I know that wasn't the reason, I want the truth..."

Kimberly took in a deep breath in a vain bid to control her anger. She was trying to do the right thing, trying her best to do right by everyone else: Katherine, Zordon and the rest of the rangers. They had a mission to complete, a very important one and here was Tommy trying to dig them deeper into an emotional black hole. It was draining and if she was honest, she was sick of doing right by everyone else and constantly hurting herself in the process.

"The truth? The truth is that I was the one making all the sacrifices so that everyone else could be happy," She exclaimed, her voice harsh, "I followed instructions blindly and now I'm the one left alone to deal with the fallout!"

"I don't even know what the hell you're talking about Kim..." He scoffed, shrugging his shoulders and Kimberly rolled her eyes.

"You know the worst part Tommy is that I wrote that letter because I had to, not because I wanted to! You didn't try to speak to me about it, you just believed it. Surely if what we had was so damn special you would have tried to fight for me!" She yelled. Tommy scowled hard at her. How dare she turn it back on him!

"Why would I have wanted to speak to you huh? You had just dumped me in a Dear John letter, that had been heard by everyone by the way, so what made you think I would have wanted to hear you say that you'd found someone else?" Kimberly tutted at him, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.

"And then to find out that you had started dating my replacement? Christ Tommy, is pink just your favourite colour?" She spat.

"Don't you dare!" Tommy hissed, pointing at her, "That isn't fair, you're the one who broke up with me! Nothing happened with Kat until after we were finished,"

"I broke up with you because Zordon told me to, not because I ever stopped loving you!" She shouted. The silence that followed was deafening, the only sounds being heard in the quickly darkening room was the heavy breathing between the two occupants standing only a few feet apart. Tommy frowned in confusion.

"Wh...what did you say?" He asked quietly, "Did you say Zordon told you to break us up?" Kimberly nodded, doing her best to hold back the glittering tears that were forming in her eyes and threatening to make tracks down her cheeks.

"I don't understand..." He said, his voice trailing off as he tried his best to think of any reason at all why Zordon would want the two of them to be separated.

"It doesn't matter any more," She said, her voice completely defeated, "It's done. You're with Katherine. You know the truth and when this is all done we can all move on with our lives...you can let yourself out..."

Kimberly turned her back on him so she could go to her room, fully intending to shut out the world for at least one evening. The first step she took, she suddenly felt a warm hand grabbing her at the crook of her elbow and pulling her back straight into a searing kiss.

The action was so automatic, so natural that Kimberly threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Her small body moulded perfectly to his as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist, pulling her closer to him. Her lips parted slightly allowing Tommy access to deepen the kiss, his tongue running along her own.

She knew this was a terrible idea, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that this was only going to lead to an even bigger mess later on but while he was running his hands down her back and teasing her the way he was, she couldn't find the strength to care. Reluctantly he pulled away, his forehead still touching her own.

"Come on," He whispered, still slightly out of breath with one hand holding her own and the other wrapped firmly around her waist dancing her towards her bedroom, his attention having gone from her mouth to the smooth skin on her neck. The sensations and emotions he was creating preventing her from forming any kind of rational thought as the two of them stumbled back onto her large bed in the darkness.

"Later," She thought to herself. She would deal with it all later.

* * *

"And did you see the way that they were looking at each other?!" Tanya said in a harsh whisper to Aisha. After Kimberly had left the park and Tommy had gone after her, the rest of the group fractured off into smaller groups. Billy decided to go and aid Zordon and Alpha in their research and Trini decided to help him. Zack, Jason and Adam had decided to help Rocky when he had told them he was going to be teaching a childrens martial arts class, leaving Aisha, Tanya and Katherine to head back and hang out at the juice bar.

"Don't try and tell me there's nothing going on there..." Tanya continued. Aisha frowned taking another sip of her smoothie.

"Will you at least keep it down? Kat will be back from the bathroom any minute," Aisha scolded, "Do you really want to put those kind of ideas in her head?"

"No, what I want to do is to protect my girl from getting hurt," Tanya said, pointing at Aisha with the french fry she had picked up, "Look I know you're friends with Kim and I get that this is probably a huge mix of interests but Kat is my best friend and she deserves more than being a second choice."

Aisha nodded, she couldn't help but agree with the other yellow ranger. Katherine was a great girl, she was pretty and kind-hearted and definitely deserved to be loved and treated like a princess. It was something that Aisha really doubted Tommy could do. It wasn't that Aisha doubted Tommy's feelings for Katherine, she was certain he felt strongly for her, just not strongly enough.

"Tanya, I think you're overreacting...all that happened in the park was something to do with Kim's powers. Sure they have history but Tommy has moved on and he's happy with Katherine," Aisha said with an unsure smile, "Shh, here she comes!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Katherine said smiling as she sat down at the table with her friends.

"Oh, we were just talking about how this mission is going to go," Aisha said quickly, "I guess we're just a little nervous,"

"I know what you mean," Katherine said nodding, "I can't imagine what Kimberly is going through," Tanya snorted quietly.

"So...are things with you and Kim cool?" Tanya asked. Katherine nodded.

"I don't think there was anything really between us in the first place but it was great to clear the air before anything got awkward,"

"Well good," Aisha said before Tanya could respond, "Everyone can move on with their lives,"

Katherine nodded with a smile then suddenly started fishing through her purse. She picked out her cell phone putting it on the table.

"I better give Tommy a call, catch up with him," She said flippantly. She found his name in his contacts and put the phone to her ear, listening to the ringing sound.

"Hi you're through to Tommy Oliver, leave a message," She heard his familiar voice say through his answer machine. She frowned lightly then shrugged, hanging up the phone.

"Hmm, he's not answering. I guess I'll try him again later," Katherine said, not noticing the look Tanya gave Aisha while she placed the phone back in her bag.


	6. Chapter 6

Kimberly couldn't remember the last time she had felt so comfortable and she sighed in contentment as she slowly began to wake. Suddenly she realised that there was something restricting her movements, a pair of muscular, well toned arms. Her eyes slowly fluttered open only to be met with a wall of chest, she looked up to see that her head was firmly tucked under Tommy's chin.

Then she remembered exactly what had happened the night before.

It was like every shred of fear, frustration and anger was being released in that first kiss which lead to them ending up in bed together. She smiled to herself, blushing at the memories. There certainly wasn't anything tender about what they had done but she had never felt passion like it before.

"At least we had the sense to put some kind of clothing back on," She thought to herself, noticing that Tommy was wearing boxers and she had put her own underwear back on. Gently she untangled herself from his arms and carefully got out of the bed. She picked up an old tee shirt that lay on the floor and pulled it over her head, trying in vain to flatten her hair as she wandered through to her kitchen.

What the hell was she going to do now? When her and Katherine had spoken only the previous day she had assured the pink ranger that nothing was ever going to happen between her and Tommy, that they had both moved on.

She had blatantly lied to the woman while looking her in the eye.

Kimberly sighed turning on her coffee machine, so preoccupied in her search for a cup that she didn't notice Tommy walk into the room behind her.

"You know, maybe if you emptied your dishwasher more than once a week you'd have more luck," He quipped and Kimberly jumped at the sudden noise, leaning backwards on the counter.

"Tommy!" Kimberly said breathless, holding her chest from the fright, "You scared the life out of me! Did I wake you?" Tommy shook his head walking further into the room. Kimberly was suddenly very aware that he was topless.

"No, no. I only woke up when I realised I was freezing," he said with a smile, "My heat source obviously wanted coffee,"

The two remained silent for a moment, both suddenly unsure of what to say to each other.

"Tommy.." "Kim..." They both said at the same time, awkwardly laughing.

"You know I did a lot of thinking last night after you fell asleep," Tommy said quietly, "And I don't regret what we did," Kimberly was frozen in place against the counter as Tommy walked forward towards her.

"I know I should...but I don't even feel guilty," He took Kimberly's small hands in his larger ones, "I lost you once. I don't intend to do it again." He said seriously. Kimberly gave him a shy, sad smile.

"And what about Kat?" She asked, "Tommy, I'm not about to break up a happy relationship..."

"Happy? Kim the last time I was really happy was when I was with you," He said, his heartfelt confession making tears form in her eyes, "I've not been discontent but it's not the same thing. It might be...awkward but I'll talk to Kat."

"I think you should wait until after we've finished this job," Kimberly said, wrapping her arms around his waist enjoying the warm feeling from his body, "I don't want things to be awkward when we all need to focus."

"So...I've just to pretend like things are fine with Katherine?" He said, "Kim after last night I don't think I can do that..." Kimberly sighed, turning her head into his chest.

"Well...if you need to, then please try and leave me out of it," She sighed, "I'm in a big enough mess as it is without having to watch my back for pink arrows..."

"Hey, everything is going to be fine," He said pulling her back so he could look at her face. She smiled up at him, taking comfort that he was so sure. Tommy took in a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest.

"I love you Kim," He said out loud, anxious at the words he hadn't said out loud in years. Inside, Kimberly was ecstatic and the grin on her face showed it.

"I love you too Tommy,"

With an easy smile on his face, his anxiety gone, Tommy leaned down towards Kimberly. His face was barely an inch from her own when a very familiar beep interrupted them. He sighed as Kimberly giggled, pulling up her own communicator.

"Come in Alpha,"

"Kimberly, Zordon needs you at the command center right away," The little robots voice could be heard through the device strapped to her wrist. Kimberly nodded to herself.

"On my way Alpha," She replied, the communicator turning off again with a faint click. Kimberly looked back at Tommy who was for all intents and purposes pouting.

"Come on handsome, duty calls,"

* * *

Tommy had left Kimberly's apartment and had quickly teleported himself home to change his clothes while Kimberly herself had thrown on the first outfit that came to hand of skinny jeans, a white fitted tee shirt and a pair of Dr Martin boots. She threw a brush over her hair and teleported herself to the command centre to find she was the last to arrive.

"Fashionably late as always Kim," Jason winked in her direction and she stuck her tongue out in response.

"Now you are all here I can tell you of our plans," Zordon's voice boomed, "The power coins are being kept on the planet Palaven, in a stronghold belonging to a good friend of mine, Vakarian. You are to go to Palaven and retrieve the power coins. Bring them back and allow them to be recharged,"

"Who is going to go Zordon?" Trini asked curiously.

"The five current rangers shall go, as well as Jason and Kimberly," Zordon said, "The others shall stay here and aid in monitoring the Lazarus comet and Lord Zedd's activities.

Kimberly could see Katherine clinging onto Tommy's arm from the corner of her eye and she hated the way it made her feel. On the one hand she felt so guilty that she had betrayed the blonde girl, she had openly told her that she had nothing to worry about then almost the very next day had ended up in bed with her boyfriend. On the other hand seeing Katherine being so intimate with him made her want to fly across the room and scratch the rangers eyes out.

"Jason, you shall be granted Turbo powers to help you on this mission, these powers are limited. Use them wisely," Jason nodded with a smirk. Kimberly could tell he was secretly very excited at the thought of being able to be a ranger again.

"How will we get there Zordon?" Tanya asked.

"You will take Zeo Zord V since your Turbo zords are unable to fly," the being answered, "Once boarded, Alpha will teleport you to the correct system. From there you will land, collect the coins and return home."

"Why can't you just teleport us straight there?" Aisha asked, confused, "You managed to send us to Pheados?"

"Palaven is further away and the atmosphere prevents a direct transport," Alpha answered and Aisha nodded in understanding.

"Alright guys, we all know what we have to do," Tommy said in a tone that Kimberly instantly recognised as his 'leader voice,' "When we get there I want everyone to try and stay together. If you do get separated, stay in contact at all times. I'm not leaving anything to chance," He said looking Kimberly in the eye. She blushed lightly and suddenly looked down at her boots.

"Shift into Turbo!" He exclaimed, the group of Turbo rangers activating their morphers and donning their coloured armour. Kimberly noticed the light in Jason's eyes when he joined them, activating his own Turbo powers and suddenly being wrapped in black Turbo armour.

"We're ready Zordon," Tommy announced, grinning at his friend who was checking himself in the nearest reflective surface.

"Good luck Rangers, May the power protect you,"

The rangers and Kimberly said their goodbye's to the friends they were leaving behind on earth and made their way into the Red Zeo zord for their journey to Palaven.

* * *

Kimberly sat quietly herself in the back of the Zord. The teleport had gone smoothly but there was still another hour until they would reach Palaven and that left her with nothing to do but sit with her own thoughts since the other rangers were busy.

She had to admit she had felt a pang of jealousy watching Katherine morph with the other rangers. That used to be her role. She was the perky pink ranger that was so deceptive during a fight with her agility and fire.

"You have a new role," She thought to herself, "You've got a world to save so stop moping around!"

"Hey! There you are!" Jason said smiling under his black helmet. Kimberly grinned up at him.

"Oh look, it's that handsome Black Ranger," she said smiling, "It suits you!"

"I honestly didn't know how much I had missed this until I felt that...surge go through my skin! This Turbo power is even better than what we used to have Kim!"

"Jason Lee! Wash your mouth out right now!" She joked, She knew it was true. The Turbo powers were nothing she had ever experienced, "Besides, I'm the ultimate weapon against evil, so I win over all of you!" Jason laughed, sitting down next to his friend and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you're finally beginning to see the fun in all this Kimmy," He said, "I was starting to worry you'd gone all serious!" She shrugged.

"Well what can I but just go with it? It's not like it's going to change any time soon..." Jason nodded.

"That's a very healthy perspective." He studied his friends face, noticing that there was still something not quite right, "There's something else you're not telling me...Come on Hart, out with it!"

Kimberly looked up at her friend, almost glad she couldn't look into his eyes through his dark mask. She took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright, but...you need to keep this quiet," She said, her voice falling to a low whisper, "Tommy and I slept together..."

Jason sat quietly for a moment and Kimberly was genuinely glad she couldn't see the expression on his face. She watched as his head turned to look straight ahead.

"Hmm." was the only noise that came from his helmet. Kimberly frowned.

"'Hmm' is that all you have to say?" She whispered in astonishment. He shook his head.

"Kim, I'm not even surprised," He sighed, "The way you two have been staring at each other since we got back from that damn island. When did this even happen?"

"After I left the park, Tommy came to mine to see what was going on...and one argument lead to another..." She sighed, "He told me that he loved me..."

"Obviously."

"And I told him that I loved him too..."

"And there's a perfectly innocent girl stuck in the middle of all this..." Kimberly groaned.

"I know! Oh Jase, I know!" She let her head fall forward into her arms, "I don't know what to do! I promised her that nothing would ever happen and the opposite has happened!" Jason stroked a gloved hand over his friends back.

"Listen Kim, you and Tommy made a mistake. He should have been honest with Kat first," He said, "But what's happened has happened and when we get back from this...thing, Tommy can speak to Kat and we can just take it from there..." Kimberly smiled at her friend, fresh tears in her eyes and her skin lightly glowing.

"I just didn't want to get into such a mess..."

"Come on, you and I both know that's what love is..." He smiled, "Messy and inconvenient!"

"I love you Jase," Kimberly said quietly, leaning into her friend and wrapping her arms around his chest. Jason sat frozen for a split second, slightly taken aback by the sudden affectionate gesture from his friend but he quickly relaxed and squeezed her back.

"I love you too Kimmy," The natural urge to place a kiss on top of her head was suddenly halted by the realisation that he was wearing a helmet so he gave her a slightly tighter than normal squeeze. "And don't worry, everything is going to be fine!"

"I've heard that a lot lately," She muttered. Jason patted her lightly on the shoulder and stood up, walking towards the front of the Zord, once again leaving Kimberly alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Tanya had been completely aware of the lingering looks between the red turbo ranger and his former girlfriend. She had been aware of it ever since Kimberly had returned but as time had gone on she had noticed he was becoming increasingly withdrawn from Katherine and those looks were getting more heated.

"Rocky, will you watch this for me," Tanya asked, standing up from her console. The recently reinstated blue ranger nodded. Slowly she moved to the back where Kimberly sat.

Although her eyes were closed, Kimberly could hear Tanya's footsteps as clear as day and her closed eyes opened to see the Yellow ranger moving towards her.

"Hey Tanya, what's up?" She said lightly. She had never really bonded with the current yellow ranger. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to but she had never really had much of a chance, even at the small gathering she had back at her flat, she got the impression Tanya didn't really want to get to know her.

"Kim, I think I need to talk to you about something pretty important," Tanya said, kneeling in front of Kimberly who remained cross legged on the floor. Kimberly couldn't gage Tanya's face due to her helmet, so she simply had to wait and hear what the yellow ranger had to say,

"Listen Kimberly," She began, her tone stern, "I know that you and Tommy have history, I get that, but he's moved on. He's with Katherine now and the two of them are happy. I just hope you've not got any...ideas..." Kimberly raised a manicured eyebrow and pulled herself up to her feet so that she was standing in front of the other woman.

She did exactly as Trini had told her, to seek out the burning sensation in her body and channel it until her mind told her that she could tap into the energy. She smirked as her skin began to glow, her eyes turning white and her muscles twitching with anticipation. Tanya took an involuntary step back.

"I see," Kimberly said keeping her voice even, "and does Kat know that you're here speaking to me?" Tanya shook her head.

"Neither of them do. I'm trying to stop two of my best friends getting hurt," Tanya said, holding her frame a little higher.

"Look Tanya, you don't know me and you certainly don't know anything about my history," She spat, "Now if Katherine wants to speak to me about this then she is more than welcome to because as far as I'm concerned this is none of your business..."

"So there's business for me to stay out of?" Kimberly scowled.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to get out of my sight before I kick that helmet clean off, do you understand me?" Kimberly whispered menacingly. Tanya said nothing but simply turned on her heel and stalked back towards the cockpit of the zord. Kimberly sighed and ran her hand through her hair as she proverbially powered down, her eyes changing back to normal. She sat herself back down on the floor, hoping that nobody else wanted to speak to her for the rest of the journey.

* * *

While Kim had remained at the back of the Zord, Tommy had remained nearer the front in the separate locker where the weapons were kept and maintained. He stood cleaning his sword for what felt like the fiftieth time, so preoccupied with his task and thoughts that he didn't hear the person come up behind him.

"Tommy? Are you alright?" Katherine's familiar accent, so warming to him, rang in his ears and he quickly turned around to face the Pink ranger as she walked into the room behind him. He was suddenly thankful that she couldn't see his facial expression.

"Oh! Yeah I'm fine," He lied. Katherine frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. She could see straight away from his body language that he was anything but fine.

"You don't seem fine," She said leaning back on one of the benches, "To be really honest, you've not been fine since we rescued Kim and Jason..." Tommy stopped his action and put his sword down properly so he could have the conversation that he wished could have happened at another time.

"You've not been yourself and you know it," Katherine said, "and I think Kimberly has a lot to do with that..."

"Kat..." She held her hand up to stop him.

"Tommy, please. I'm not an idiot, I know that look on your face plain as day and I can promise you've never looked at me that way," She sounded sad but Tommy could hear the small smile in her voice.

"You're not mad?" Katherine shook her head.

"Oh I want to, believe me!" She said with a sad laugh, "I would want nothing more than to scream and shout at you but...I can't...because you were never really mine to begin with," Tommy sighed knowing she was completely right.

"You know, I do love you Katherine," He said and she smiled under her helmet but shook her head.

"Just not enough," She said, "You and Kimberly belong together. I'm not going to fight for someone who is already lost!" He took her gloved hand in his own.

"Not to sound clichéd, but you deserve someone better," He said and she laughed lightly.

"That is so very clichéd Tommy!" She laughed, "But you're right. I guess I do,"

"So...what now?" Tommy asked unsure of where Katherine was really going with the conversation. Katherine rolled her eyes under her helmet, typical Tommy needing things spelled out for him.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we're not a couple any more!" She smiled, "You are going to go and sort things out with Kimberly...hell, Tommy, just do whatever makes you happy!" Tommy pulled Katherine into a tight hug.

"I definitely didn't deserve you," He said quietly, suddenly feeling guilty about his encounter with Kimberly less than twenty four hours before.

He had expected things to be so messy. He had expected tears and shouting and awkward moments for months to come but instead Katherine had shown her true colours to him and in that moment had proven herself to be the most supportive, caring friend he had ever had.

"Oh I know," She said pulling away, "Now fearless leader, lets get this job finished!" He nodded in agreement and made his way into the main cockpit to check their progress leaving the Pink ranger to stare after him with a sad smile.

A/N: See you don't always need to Katherine bash, she's not a bad person! I swear there is also a point in Tanya's conversation with Kim! Keep on reading folks!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Firstly, sorry for calling it the command centre. It's what I'm used to and to be honest I'm not going back and changing it now since I'm happy with how the story is! Also, with regards to Justin, Rocky is still the Blue Ranger. I was never really into Justin as a character so in this story, Rocky was reinstated.

* * *

The meaning of the term 'If you want something done, do it yourself,' was starting to become increasingly obvious to Goldar. In his time overseeing the production of Lord Zedd's laser device, Divatox had come to him asking his advice a number of times on what to do about this and that. Now the pirate queen was flapping about in front of him, apparently having another issue.

"Goldy, what am I going to do?!" She screeched, "I've to go and get these coins for Zedd before the Rangers!"

"I've told you not to call me that..." Goldar muttered, "I don't see what's so difficult. You take a ship, you take your Piranha...things and you take the coins by force," Divatox pouted.

"But is it really that easy?!" She exclaimed, "That place is a fortress!"

"It's also full of pacifist monks that wouldn't put up a fight if their lives depended on it," Goldar sniggered, "And might I add, you're wasting time!"

"You're right...the longer I wait to more likely I am to fail..." She sighed to herself.

"And the more likely the Rangers will get there first!" Goldar stressed, "We haven't seen any trace that the Rangers have left earth yet. So I suggest you get yourself a ship and you leave...NOW!" He barked making Divatox jump at his sudden shout.

The Pirate scowled at him and stamped a foot before she stalked away from the lab, making a promise to herself that when she returned Lord Zedd would have a reason to see her in a good light.

* * *

The first thing Kimberly realised was that the sky was purple on Palaven. The second thing she realised was that it was extremely cold and she wished she had brought a jacket with her. The Rangers and Kimberly made their way off the Zord and onto the planet Palaven.

The landscape was something straight from a fairytale, Kimberly thought, taking in the lush green landscape that surrounded the complex they were entering. The building was a tall sandstone but of extremely modern design, bordered by what looked like a forest of pink leaved trees. Slowly they began to make their way from their Zord that they had left on what looked like a landing pad up a long path towards to main doors of the complex.

Standing in front of the doors stood a strange looking being that Kimberly could only guess had the mouth shape of a cat but the head shape of a bird. The creature wore a type of armour covering a body that was covered in scales. She had never seen anything like it.

"Welcome all," The being said, "Zordon told us you would be arriving. I am Garrus and I am care taker of these facilities," Tommy stepped forward.

"Garrus, It's good to meet you," He said, "Did Zordon tell you what we came for?" Garrus nodded.

"Oh yes," he answered, "The coins are a most rare power source indeed, you will need to meet with Vakarian to retrieve them. We are very particular about how we give these kind of items away,"

"What is it that you do here?" Adam asked, curious about the building. Garrus fixed his small, bird like eyes on the green ranger.

"We are the keepers of power in the universe," He answered simply, "There are forces in this universe that would use the items we keep here for an...unsavoury purpose. This monastery has stood for purity in the universe for over five thousand years..." The monks voice trailed off as his eyes suddenly became fixed on Kimberly, who stood awkwardly under the scrutiny.

"Lux Vera..." He said quietly, staring at Kimberly with his round, golden eyes as she stood awkwardly behind the other Rangers, feeling very exposed. She suddenly felt very aware that she didn't have armour or weapons like the others did. All she had was a very unstable power that she still didn't trust herself to be able to use when she wanted to.

"You bring the Key of Light to our doorstep," Garrus said. Kimberly frowned.

"...I'm...wait, what?" She said confused. Garrus pushed past the other Rangers to move closer to her.

"Lux Vera or 'Key of Light' in your native language," He said, "Zordon had told me of your existence but I did not think for a moment he would allow you to leave earth," Kimberly nodded.

"I'm sure he had his reasons," She said, not really sure what else the being wanted her to say. Suddenly he grabbed her hand, the strange texture of his cold skin catching her off guard and making her jump.

"You must come with me!" He said, "Rangers, you will be taken by my assistant, Saren, to collect the coins. My dear, I must speak with you alone..." Tommy suddenly stepped forward.

"Kim isn't going anywhere without us!" He said, his voice stern. Garrus stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the red Ranger, his face almost amused.

"I see," He said shortly, "Are we going to have a problem?" Kimberly quickly shook her head.

"No! No problems!" She insisted, "It's fine. I'll meet you guys back here when we're done." Tommy reluctantly nodded.

"Fine," He said dead panned, "Stay in contact," Kimberly nodded then allowed herself to be lead away by Garrus into the building.

* * *

"Earth must be in grave danger if Zordon is going so far to use Lux Vera," Garrus said lightly as he walked Kimberly through the complex. Everything was so light, she noticed, not a dark colour could be seen other than her dark jeans and boots. Even the robes Garrus wore were a light green trimmed with silver. Then again, they were told that this sanctuary stood for everything pure in the universe so why would they bother with darkness. It wasn't in their nature.

"I don't really think Zordon had a choice," Kimberly said, happy they were sticking to a topic she was familiar with.

"My dear girl, of course he had a choice," Garrus chuckled, "Zordon does nothing without taking some very carefully calculated steps first..."

"What do you mean?"

"I have known Zordon since the days of the Eltar wars when Master Vile and Rita Rupulsa originally threatened peace...that was, oh, around eight thousand years ago now," He said, "And as much as I would trust Zordon with my life, and I have, he never does anything without having either a very good reason or an ulterior motive,"

Suddenly Kimberly felt uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. She hated to believe that Zordon would intentionally keep anything from any of them but she began to think that it wasn't the first time he had failed to share plans. When Zordon had made Tommy the white ranger he hadn't told anyone what was going on until it was over. She began to think that his reasons for demanding she write the fated letter sounded rather thin as well. She decided she would quiz him when she was back on earth.

"So...I'm a key huh?" Kimberly said, changing the subject. Garrus nodded, "Key to what?"

"It is actually not known," He said, "The last instance of Lux Vera was so long ago on Liaria that even the texts are unclear. I am excited to see the end results," Kimberly scoffed.

"I'm glad you are..."

They arrived in what seemed to be a central courtyard in the middle of the complex. In the middle of the courtyard stood a white marble statue of a woman with long hair, wearing what looked like a silk toga. Her face was almost human but marked with symbols, the biggest difference being that the statue had four eyes. The statue stood on top of a fountain and all the sandstone paths lead to the statue in the middle. It was so peaceful.

"This is what I wanted to show you," Garrus said, "We created this statue as a tribute to the last warrior of light, Kiyo. The legend goes that during the Rachni wars of old, Kiyo managed to hold off swarms and swarms of evil alone to allow her loved ones time to escape,"

"So...she sacrificed herself,"

"To save a world..." Garrus confirmed, "I suppose she saw it as a small price to pay. There is not many who can see such a big picture,"

"She's so beautiful," Kimberly said staring at the marble face in awe, the white eyes striking a little close to home.

"She is," He said, "I brought you here because I thought you would like to pray..." Kimberly tore her eyes away from the statue and looked at Garrus with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not really a religious person..." Garrus turned to her with a kind smile that Kimberly thought looked slightly strange against the shape of his mouth.

"My dear, Lux Vera chose you. Soon you are going to be tasked with some impossible choices...you will need guidance and you will need forgiveness,"

There was something in the way the monk spoke to her that made Kimberly feel that it was the right thing to do, that there was a reason this stranger was insisting she do something so out of character. She nodded.

"Alright..." Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her towards the statue.

"I shall leave you alone with your thoughts," He said, "Feel free to find your companions when you're ready.."

Suddenly Kimberly found herself alone in front of the statue, the only sound coming from the running water in the fountain. Even though she felt a little silly having never been inclined towards religion before, Kimberly knelt in front of the statue.

"Okay...Um, Hi," She stuttered awkwardly, "I've never really done this before and I don't know what I'm supposed to say..." Kimberly suddenly looked around herself to make sure she was definitely alone.

"I think I need your help," She said honestly, "I'm expected to do this great thing and I don't even know where to start...I'm so confused. I'm worried that when the time comes I won't be this great things everyone is treating me like and the world will burn for it..." She sighed again staring up at the statues serene face, pulling herself to her feet and brushing the dry dirt from her jeans.

"I'm not even afraid of dying," She confessed, "I'm afraid of leaving everyone behind...especially Tommy. I don't know if I can do that to him again..." She laughed.

"Oh, you don't know who he is...I guess it's not important," She said sadly, "I just hope I can be as brave as you..."

A great rumble shook the ground Kimberly stood on and she could have sworn at first it was an earth quake. It was the sounds of shouting and gun fire that told her this was more than just a normal earthquake. With one last glance at the statue of Kiyo, Kimberly ran out of the courtyard towards the terrible sounds.

* * *

Tommy was getting impatient as he and the rest of the group followed Saren through the building to meet with Vakarian and retrieve their power coins. He was doing his best to pretend he was interested in the history and the stories they were being told but his worry prevented him from giving Saren his full attention.

He wanted to know exactly where Kimberly had gone for a start. Taken away by a strange alien they had only just met who seemed to be in awe of the power she possessed. It didn't sit well with Tommy. At least Adam seemed genuinely interested in what Saren had to say.

A gloved hand grabbed his own and he turned his head to see the familiar pink helmet nodding at him. He was certain underneath was Katherine's warm, understanding smile.

"She'll be alright Tommy," Katherine whispered to him, "Stop being so tense. Your shoulders are set like rock!" He chuckled to himself. She wasn't wrong and when he tried to move his posture he felt it was more difficult than usual to roll his shoulders back.

"And here is our main conservatory," Saren said, gesturing with his arms to the massive entrance way. Tables and pillows were laid out around the floor where many of the monks sat drinking what Tommy assumed was a tea or some were meditating alone. At the each side of the room, two massive staircases swooped down leading up to a balcony that circled the room, allowing the monks to look out at the view or access the outside balconies over looking the gardens. Between the staircases was an archway to further halls and two doors on either side.

"This place is amazing!" Katherine said in awe, "Look at that sky light! No wonder it's so bright and warm in here," Saren nodded.

"My people are cold blooded you see, we do prefer a warm atmosphere!" He smiled, "This is our place of rest. Many of our residents choose to meditate or draw. Some study more of their training. Through that arch ahead of us are the keeping chambers where we store some of our artifacts. Our more...choice items are kept past this hallway,"

"And that's where we'll find the coins?" Saren nodded.

"And Vakarian. He is the only one able to open the field that protects the coins," Saren explained, "In one of those rooms there is a decoy box, not that we've ever had any security compromised, but it's always prudent to be careful with these things..." Tommy blew out a breath in frustration. Everything was taking too long for his liking.

A great smash suddenly rang around the room as the floor rumbled and the glass from the huge skylight tumbled in shards to the floor below. The resident monks scattered in alarm, some helping the elderly to get to safety.

"Is that...Serpentera?!" Jason exclaimed looking up at the massive ship that hovered above the smashed skylight, blocking out the sun, "I thought we'd destroyed it?"

"Clearly not!" Adam shouted. From the ships side ports they could see what looked like Piranhatrons rappelling down through the broken window to the floor below.

"These don't look like normal Piranhatrons," Tanya commented, "They look bigger!" Tommy nodded in agreement. They were certainly much bigger, not just in height but in bulk as well and wearing all black.

"Spread out!" He shouted, "They must be here for the coins!"

"We need to help protect the Turians..." Katherine said noticing that some of the monks seemed ready for battle, Saren included.

"Do not worry about us Human! We must protect the monastery!" He shouted about the noise and he flipped towards his enemy, releasing a devastating spinning heel kick into a piranhatron's face.

"There's too many!" Rocky shouted, throwing a punch then ducking to avoid being struck back, "We can't hold them all!"

"Where's Divatox?!" Adam said, kicking a Piranhatron in the stomach, "They normally won't fight without her,"

Tommy finished the soldier he was fighting with a hard kick to the side of its head.

"It's a diversion, I'm sure of it!" He said, "We need to find Kimberly and the coins! That's what they want!"

* * *

Kimberly ran as fast as she could, her skin fully aglow and her eyes white while her body was on full alert. She hadn't found any trouble yet but she could hear it all and it was getting louder. She had lost track of where she was in the building and was sure she was going in circles. She remembered Garrus saying something about the building being almost like a giant square and you could run around it in circles if you weren't careful. That was exactly what she was doing.

She skidded to a halt as she rounded the corner of another corridor that seemed very different to the others. She could feel an energy almost pulsing from the rooms that drew her to them and gave her strength.

"This must be where the coins are," She said to herself. She remembered how she used to feel holding her old power coin and the feeling she felt now was a thousand times that. Kimberly knew it must have had something to do with Lux Vera, why else would she have felt such a pull towards the other rooms. She suddenly wondered what the other power coin users would have felt had they been with her but she soon shook it from her thoughts. She didn't have time for it.

There was a noise coming from one of the central rooms that unsettled her and when she concentrated on the emotions it made her feel sick. So much hate and anger without a real purpose. Slowly she moved towards the doorway of the room, her footsteps as silent as she could make them.

Inside the room were six of the mutants that had helped capture her and Jason for Divatox, only these mutants looked much bigger. They seemed to be looking for something as they ransacked the room, pulling things from drawers and cupboards and breaking any of the barriers they found. Kimberly realised very quickly that they must have looked for the power coins.

"Remember, Divatox wants all of those coins!" One of them barked, "And they want the girl alive! Or it'll be your head she takes!" Kimberly scowled. They were looking for her?

"What if we run into any Rangers?" One of the asked, stopping in his activity. The other mutant shrugged.

"Kill them," He said nonchalantly.

Kimberly's scowl deepened and she felt a burning in her chest unlike anything she had ever felt before. She felt so much rage that it tingled at her fingers and toes, hot blood pumping to her muscles ready to pounce. How dare they threaten her friends!

Kimberly took a deep breath in and pushed herself from the wall, boldly walking around the corner into the doorway, in full view of the enemy.

The piranhatrons stood frozen in shock staring at the small glowing human in front of them who was standing with a look that could melt steel. The self appointed leader of the group suddenly shook himself from his stunned silence.

"That's the girl! Get her!"

The first piranhatron that attacked lunged towards her in an ungraceful lunge, attempting to throw its arms around her but was met with a hard kick to its solax plexus followed by an axe kick to the back of its neck. As Kimberly staggered back from the first kick, another grabbed her from behind but she used its weight to kick forward, catching another in the head with her feet and once she hand landed she gracefully kicked her leg back also landing a crushing blow to its head.

The others that attacked her didn't fare any better as she leapt forward, wrapping her legs around its neck and flipping around, spinning the creature onto its back as she landed back on her feet and curb stopped the piranhatron in the head. She quickly spun around and blocked the wild swinging punch that was thrown at her with her forearm. The mutant continued to throw punches that Kimberly blocked until she had grabbed both it's arms and kicked directly up the way, smashing it's jaw. The last piranhatron she disposed of by grabbing the knife from her previous' attackers body and throwing it directly into the chest of the creature. It fell to the floor with a dull thud leaving Kimberly the only thing left breathing.

Slowly she stood from her crouched place, her breathing heavy and her hands shaking from the adrenaline in her system. Although the real actions took no real effort, everything in her mind felt so organic and natural but she soon realised her body could still feel pain and stress.

"Let's see what we've got here," She muttered to herself spying the ornate wooden box that had been thrown on the floor in the chaos. It was a dark wood and decorated with gold filigree and looked small enough to be able to hold six coins. As she crouched down to check the box she could hear the 'click' of high heels on hard flooring.

"Well now, look who we have here..."

* * *

"Tommy, we can't stay here! We need to find Kimberly!" Katherine shouted above the noise that the fighting was making. He knew she was right, they seemed to be fighting a never ending wave of Piranhatrons along side the monks that he remained to defend their home.

"I know," he stressed, "But we can't just leave the Turian's to fight alone!" Saren grunted.

"We have defended these ground for over ten thousand years Ranger," He said, "It is more important that you complete your mission!" Tommy nodded.

"Alright, I'll continue with Jason and get the coins. Kat and Rocky, you stay here and help defend this point. Try and stop these things from getting deeper into the building, Kat use your bow when you can to try and pick them off. Adam and Tanya, I need you two to search the place for Kimberly and get her back to the zord," He said, his voice full of authority, "Lets go!"

The Rangers split into their groups, Katherine and Rocky staying in place next to Saren to help him hold his defences while Adam and Tanya sped off down a hallway to start their search.

* * *

Tommy and Jason ran towards the arch, punching and kicking any piranhatron that got in their way until they were suddenly and strangely alone, the sound of the fighting behind them. Tommy remembered Saren telling them that Vakarian was in one of the many rooms in that part of the building and that he was the only one who was able to get to the power coins.

Tommy's mind was running a million miles a minute, frantically jumping from one subject to another. He was almost sick with panic that Kimberly was somewhere alone and unstable, he knew that Divatox was looking for her as well as the coins. He would never forgive himself if she was taken, or worse. Jason raised an eyebrow under his dark helmet, noticing that Tommy's hands were shaking.

"Bro, you need to take a breath!" Jason said, clamping a hand firmly on Tommy's shoulder, "I know you're under pressure but you're not going to do Kim any good if you lose your head!"

"I should have gone after her myself," Tommy muttered but Jason shook his head.

"No! You trust Adam and Tanya, Kim'll be safe with them. We have an important job to do and as leader it's important that you see it's done. You made the right call!"

Tommy knew Jason was right and for a split second he began to think that Zordon maybe had a point. Emotions have no place on a mission. He was so full of worry and stress that Kimberly was safe that he wasn't thinking clearly. He knew that Adam and Tanya were the fastest out of everyone to find Kimberly and bring her back safely. He nodded back at Jason.

"I know Man, Sorry," He said, "Let's keep looking,"

The two men continued to check every room along the long hallway. Each room had been completely ruined to the point neither Tommy nor Jason could tell what, if anything, had been taken. Tommy was checking another room when he heard Jason shout for him.

When Tommy had run over to where Jason was he found the newest black ranger kneeling next to what looked like a very old Turian, lying on the ground and his hands clutching a fresh wound.

"It's Vakarian," Jason said gravely. Tommy knelt next to him.

"Vakarian, Zordon sent us! We're going to help you!" He said. The Turian laughed weakly.

"It is too late for me Human," He stuttered, his lips stained with royal blue blood, "You must deliver the coins..."

"Where are the coins?" Tommy asked quickly. He wished there was more time to be compassionate with the dying being but they needed those coins to save earth and they were quickly running out of time. Vakarian drew in a shuddery breath.

"The coins...are with me..." he whispered, pulling a blade from his side with shaking hands and pushing it towards Tommy into the red ranger's hand.

"What?" Jason muttered in frustration, "Vakarian?! Try and stay with us!" He said shaking the Turian gently but it was no use. Vakarian's clouded eyes slipped closed and with one last exhale his head tipped backwards and finally he was at peace.

"What do we do now?!" Tommy asked out loud, "'The coins are with me' what does that even mean?" Jason sat quietly for a moment looking down at the dead Turian, trying to work out his words. Suddenly something Saren had said to them came to his mind.

"Tommy, I think I know what he was talking about," Jason said slowly, "and God I hope I'm wrong..." Tommy frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Earlier when you weren't listening to Saren, he was talking about Turian's and their physiology. How they're cold blooded and how they have a kind of...pouch...in their gut..."

"Yes and?" Jason stared back at Tommy with an open mouth wishing that Tommy could see the look on his face.

"Do you really not see where I'm going with this?!" Tommy shook his head sharply.

"No! Jason we can't!"

"I think it's our only option Tommy," Jason sighed, "What other chance do we have?!"

Tommy felt sick at the thought of what they would have to do. Years of training in martial arts had taught him more than just how to protect himself in conflict. It taught him that a persons spirit was something sacred, it felt wrong and so disrespectful that they would have to desecrate a dead body.

"Just...try and make it quick and clean..." He muttered in disgust handing the blade over to Jason. It was just not something Tommy was willing to do.

Jason took in a deep breath and with a firm and sudden motion dug the exceptionally sharp blade between the scales and through the flesh of the Turian, doing his best to ignore the wet sound. Tommy winced, looking away from the scene in front of him.

Jason remembered being told that the pouch he was looking for now would have been around the gut area. He gritted his teeth, pulling out the blade and gently pushing his gloved hand through the incision. Jason's stomach was churning and he was doing his best to ignore how warm his hand suddenly felt.

"Alright, I think I can feel what I'm looking for," Jason said quietly, trying to keep his stomach in check. After a few seconds he suddenly could feel something solid in his hands that definitely didn't belong.

"I got something!" Jason said triumphantly. Gently he pulled his gloved hand back out from the wound, the white stained with a bright blue but in his hand he was holding one of six power coins. Tommy grabbed a nearby throw that lay on the floor, taking the coin from Jason and cleaning the blue blood off.

"Keep going!" Tommy urged while Jason continued to pull out the rest of the power coins, one by one while Tommy cleaned them off. Tommy then opened a section of his armor, hiding the coins safely away.

"Alright! We've got the coins, now we need to find Kimberly and get the hell out of here!" Jason said. Tommy nodded in agreement.

"Right, I just need to do something here first," He said. Quickly he grabbed the blanket that he had used to clean the coins, gently laying it over Vakarian and covering the Turian's body.

"Thank you my friend, I promise it won't be in vain," Tommy said sadly giving the body one last look before joining Jason.


End file.
